To Light a Fire
by subtle tea
Summary: For Robert and Cora Crawley, marriage came well before love, at a rather young age, and without much knowledge of the birds and the bees. How did these two find their way to loving each other? Like so many others, I'm writing a pre-canon story.
1. Wedding Night

"I'm not sure that's how it's supposed to work," Robert Crawley said as he rolled onto his back and lay next to he wife of a week and six days, "I certainly can't imagine the great figures of history thrashing about like … " His words faded as he turned to his young bride who had put as much space between the two of them as she could while remaining in the bed and pulled the sheets up to her chin. He may have felt more awkward than he ever had in his life, but she looked afraid and that hurt him. "Are you alright? If I hurt you, I'm sorry. I'm truly sorry." She hadn't looked or sounded like she'd found the experience to be anything but painful and he had noticed a trace of blood on the sheets after he'd finished. He might not love her, but he hated feeling like he'd abused her. They hardly knew each other and she was so small, and delicate, and soft. As he thought of how delightful her body felt, he absent-mindedly reached over and ever so lightly touched her bare shoulder. That startled her and she pulled away from him so fast that she nearly fell off the bed. He was about midway through a flood of apologies, when she stopped him with a gentle touch to his arm.

"Maybe we'll get better at it." Cora said softly and she even managed the faintest of smiles. He was still the man of her dreams even if she knew she wasn't starring in any of his and she was determined to cheer him up.

"You didn't enjoy it, though," he said in a tone that sounded much more like a statement than a question, but Cora answered him anyway in a desperate attempt at conversation or at least a path out of the incredible awkwardness that had engulfed them both.

"I'm not sure that I'm meant to," she said trying to ignore the dull ache between her thighs. They lay in silence. They had no idea what to say to each other.

Robert Crawley may not have had any firsthand lovemaking experience, but he'd heard plenty of boasting from friends and cousins, read enough literary accounts, and had seen his fair share of "French postcards" and, while he would never compare the future Countess in the bed beside him to some tart who posed for dirty pictures, he had always been under the impression that this was supposed to be a mutually enjoyable sort of activity. He knew that what they had just done had not been even remotely enjoyable … for her. In truth, if he hadn't been so concerned about his new wife's emotions, he might have reflected more on how much he had enjoyed the smell of her perfume, the sensation of her breath on his neck, and the way her soft body felt pressed so tightly against him. She really was lovely and that fact was not lost on him.

This was one of those things that had to be done, of course. Their honeymoon was nearly over and both he and Cora had agreed that they wanted to consummate their marriage away from Downton Abbey and, more specifically, away from Robert's mother, the Countess of Grantham, Lady Violet Crawley. They had waited as long as they could and had at least tried to get acquainted to some degree, but they were going to begin their journey to the Crawley family home the next afternoon so it couldn't be put it off any longer. If they arrived without having gotten this business over with, everyone would fear an annulment was in the works. Any uncertainty regarding the estate's future would not make Cora's assimilation into Downton life any easier and the possibility of attaining anything remotely close to detente with his mother would be absolutely out of the question. They had agreed that this was the best course of action, but they hadn't expected it would be this uncomfortable on so many levels.

Robert was brought back from his thoughts by the unexpected sensation of a small hand slipping into his own. He looked to his right and found Cora gazing at him. She carefully slid a little, tiny bit closer to him. He figured she was just trying to keep from tumbling out of bed in the night, but it still made him feel good. "We'll get better," she said softly as she squeezed his hand.

He smiled back at her. "We'll try," he said and sat up to blow out the last of the candles.


	2. Lonely Beauty

Cora Crawley was lonelier than she had ever been and she had felt that way for days. Without a honeymoon suite forcing them together every evening, she barely got to speak to her new husband. What was worse was her nagging suspicion that he was purposefully ignoring her. Since she knew no one else and was doing her best to avoid Robert's mother, Lady Grantham, that meant that she was left alone most of the time. Alone in a new country. Alone in a home where much was expected, namely an heir, but little was offered. She received lodging and meals - lovely lodging and delicious meals - but affection and friendship was apparently not part of the arrangement. She had never expected they would be, but she also hadn't realized how much she'd miss them. Her heart ached for some little bit of companionship. She longed for it and she longed for Robert.

Despite his increasing distance from her, he was still the man she adored. He had needed her, but she had wanted him. He hadn't been the only one to propose to her and he hadn't been the first either, but she had seen in him everything she had ever wanted - strength, kindness, a good sense of humor, intelligence - and everything she needed - social standing, a title, and stability - in a husband and she couldn't deny that she had felt something when they met that she had never felt before. She wasn't sure if it was love, but it made her heart skip a beat when he so much as looked at her. After seeing him again at her first London party, her heart had belonged to Robert Crawley and there was nothing that would keep her from marrying him. She had known from the beginning that he didn't love her, and it did hurt, but she was going to try and make her feelings for him enough to build a life on. With any luck, "love would grow in time" as her mother had said the morning of the wedding.

"Cora, are you quite well?" Her mother-in-law's question and tone of voice dragged her back to reality. It was time for another formal dinner party with more people who would talk about her rather than to her. She would be nothing more than another ornament - again.

"I'm fine, Lady Grantham, I'm afraid my mind was just wandering." Cora tried to give her mother-in-law as little ammunition as possible with which to tear her down, but the Countess always found a way.

"Well, see that you keep a steady hold of it now," the imposing matriarch snipped. Cora could feel that barbed words were on their way and tried to brace herself. "We can't have all of polite society thinking you're simple. It's bad enough you're American." In spite of all her best efforts to shrug the loneliness and insults off, Cora looked wary and wounded as she entered the drawing room for pre-dinner hors-devours and a glass of wine. She sighed in resignation before putting on a smile. She hoped her mother-in-law hadn't heard her.

Robert Crawley was mulling over what he'd just seen as he'd entered the library unnoticed and just in time to see his mother berated his wife. He had to stand up to his mother for Cora. She would pick on even the slightest social faux pas, real or imagined. Cora's hair, clothes, shoes, walk, posture, voice, and face were all points of ridicule. Her accent was a particularly popular target. He didn't understand why as he found it rather appealing. He'd noticed that he found quite a lot of things about his bride very appealing indeed. Laughter rang from the direction from the drawing room and he already knew that it had been at Cora's expense.

As the last few chuckles dissipated and Cora took a seat alone by the fire. She watched her husband enter the room and thought about how lovely it would feel to be held tightly in his arms and hear him tell her that everything would be alright. "What was so funny?" Robert asked his mother. "You know I hate to miss a joke, Mama." Cora's daydreams melted away at her husband's words. She felt abandoned but she could not allow her mother-in-law the satisfaction of watching her break. Even so a tear began to trail down her cheek.

"It wasn't anything special, my boy," Lady Grantham demurred.

Robert raised his eyebrow. So his mother was hesitant to repeat her comment to him. That implied that it had indeed been something unkind about Cora. He looked at his wife sitting by herself. Her eyes were cast down and she looked so hurt. He almost thought he saw a tear rolling down her cheek. He had to lessen the severity of his mother's criticism. He knew that it would never go away entirely, but he couldn't allow Cora to be tormented this way. It wasn't fair. He didn't love her, but he had to protect her. "Oh come, come now Mama, I heard you all laughing down the hall. It sounded like a hit from there. I wouldn't want to miss some of your best work."

Lady Grantham did not like to be challenged. If her son wanted to hear what she thought of his flashy, foreign bankroll, then so be it. "When I overheard your Clara saying that she wouldn't be joining Rosamund and Lady Beverly riding tomorrow, I said that, considering the way she fills out her skirts, the horse would not doubt be relieved." The lady of the house glanced at the woman she'd taken to calling "that colonial interloper". She wanted it to be well know that she found this marriage of convenience to be very inconvenient indeed.

Robert was also watching the family's newest member. His mother had done it again. She knew what Cora's name was. Clara was the chubby housemaid usually responsible for cleaning in the library, which Cora had all but taken over since she'd arrived. Cora had to know who Clara was and surely recognized the physical comparison his mother was implying even if everyone else had dismissed it as a slip of the tongue. He watched his wife stand and make her way to the table where drinks were being served. There was nothing unattractive about her and she certainly wasn't too plump. "Mama," he said as he crossed the room to join his bride, "you know perfectly well that my wife's name is Cora and as far as I'm concerned she looks beautiful." Cora turned to him stunned by his words. He placed a comforting hand on her hers and smiled reassuringly. "Beautiful from every angle," he said softly. He gave her hand a gentle squeeze and enjoyed watching her blush deeply. He couldn't help but feel a little proud of himself as he sipped his drink.

As the young couple stood together and began to talk, Richard Crawley, Earl of Grantham, quietly got everyone moving into the dining room before his wife came up with anything else to say. Violet Crawley took him aside as their guests were getting settled for dinner. "I hope we aren't to be scandalized by that colonial interloper," she whispered to her husband with a tone of genuine concern.

Lord Grantham laughed. "How much scandal can a husband and wife get up to in the few minutes of conversation before dinner?" He took his wife's arm and began to lead her to her seat. "They've barely had any time to themselves since they've returned. They need to get to know each other." When the pair did enter the dining room some five minutes later, the change in Cora was marked. She seemed somehow renewed. Lord Grantham gave her a friendly smile as she took her seat and dinner began. It was her first meal in her new home where she felt somewhat welcomed or at least not entirely alienated. Conversation was smoother and, when things did get difficult, Robert would say something to lead the topic away from whatever snag his mother was trying to draw Cora into.

When the party had ended and everyone had run out of reasons to stay up, the family stood around the stairs awkwardly just as they had done at every bedtime since Robert and Cora had arrived home. Lord and Lady Grantham, Robert's sister Rosamund, and her husband Marmaduke were all looking expectantly at Robert and Cora. "I think the newlyweds should lead the way, don't you, my dear brother," Rosamund said with a giggle. Robert glowered at his grinning sister.

"Rosamund!" Lady Grantham hissed. As mother and daughter bickered, Lord Grantham waved goodnight to his son and daughter-in-law as they slipped up the stairs.

"Do you think they'll ever stop waiting for us to go to bed?" Robert murmured quietly to his wife as they made their way to their separate, but adjoining, bedrooms.

"I hope so," Cora sighed. "It's very pressuring."

"I'm sorry about the way Mama's been treating you. I hadn't expected her to be as blunt as she has been in front of guests. She's put you through a lot and I feel that I should have defended you more strongly." Robert wasn't looking at his wife as he spoke in his usual, matter-of-fact manner but when Cora looped her arm through his and looked up at him with those stunning blue eyes, his demeanor softened and he was once again struck by beauty of the woman he had married. They had reached their rooms now, but stood together in the hallway not quite ready to say goodnight.

Cora smiled. "I appreciated your defense very much." She paused, debating whether she wanted to ask her question and risk getting a painful answer. She took the chance and, quickly looking away, she softly added, "Did you mean it?" She cast her eyes upward to try to gauge Robert's reaction.

There was a sudden tightness in his throat and he wondered if she was doing all of these little things that were throwing him so off balance on purpose. "Mean what?" His voice cracked and his face turned noticeably redder as Cora giggled.

"When you said you thought I was beautiful, did you mean it?" She prepared herself for the disappointment that might come.

He cleared his throat and hoped his voice would work properly this time. "Certainly. You are a remarkably beautiful woman, Cora. You take my breath away." It was Cora's turn to blush as Robert took both her hands in his. He leaned in and was about to kiss her cheek, when he heard his mother down the hall saying something to his father about grandchildren. He pulled back and lifted one of her small hands to his lips. "Goodnight, Cora," he said barely concealing a frown as her hand slipped out of his.

Cora opened the door to her bedroom and stood on the threshold. "Goodnight Robert. Pleasant dreams." she said before turning from him. He watched her door close before going to his own bedroom.

After their respective servants had attended to their needs, Robert and Cora slept in their own beds. Cora went to sleep happy for the first time in her new home. Her husband might not love her, but he had said she was beautiful - three times - and had said she took his breath away. He'd complimented her and he'd meant it. On the other side of the wall, Robert dreamt of a woman with striking dark hair, sparkling blue eyes, a shy smile, soft skin, and a very particular accent. He had had dreams about women before, but not until that night had any of them been about the one he'd married a little less than a month before.


	3. Outwitting Lady Grantham

"They're getting impatient, Cora," Robert whispered as he and his wife walked to their rooms.

"I know, I heard your mother talking to your aunt this afternoon about expecting a daughter-in-law and receiving a lodger." She looked up at her husband of two months. She wasn't anxious to try lovemaking again, but she would if he wanted to. She took his hand as they approached their rooms. As she was about to get her usual kiss goodnight she noticed someone down the hall. She indicated as subtlety as possible to her husband that they were not alone.

Robert turned to find his mother standing at the end of the hall. His father was trying his best to get her to move along and leave the two to their awkward goodnight kiss which had progressed in the last week or two from a kiss on the hand to a kiss on the cheek. It wasn't much, but it was something and the Earl of Grantham did not want this slowly developing intimacy to be disrupted or delayed in any way by his wife's meddling, but Violet simply refused to leave. "Oh, don't mind us," she said waving and continuing to watch them in spite of all of her husband's grumbling. Robert was about to say something to her when he felt a gentle tug on his arm. Cora still had him by the hand and, with blushing cheeks and a timid smile, she was pulling him into her bedroom. He looked over his shoulder and his mother waved again as the door shut behind him.

And then they were alone.

They stood close together holding each other's hands. "What now?" Robert asked as he suddenly began to feel some pressure building in a certain part of his anatomy.

"It's up to you," Cora said, but her face betrayed her uneasiness.

Robert gently pulled her closer to him and stroked her hair. "I don't want to sleep with you until you're sure you are ready. I'm not going to force myself on you in any way and I assure you I am a very patient man." He could see the relief wash over his nervous wife.

"You're also a very sweet man," Cora said as she gazed into his eyes, "but I hope that your patience isn't the result of you finding me unappealing."

As she moved closer, she accidentally brushed against his groin and Robert groaned. "No," he sighed, "I can assure you that that is definitely not the case." He had to get away from her at least until his body could come down and listen to reason. He backed away from her and reached for the doorknob of the door to the hallway. He had to leave before he had to endure yet another awkward moment with the woman who he suddenly found himself always wanting to please. He opened the door, turned to leave, and found his mother standing at the other end of the hallway.

That took care of his trouser problem very quickly.

Violet Crawley had suspected that her son and "_that American_" were trying to outwit her. She would show them that one had to be very clever indeed to accomplish that task. She grinned slyly as the door at the end of the hall slammed shut.

"She's still out there!" Robert whispered to Cora. His wife walked over and Robert moved out of the way so she could look through the keyhole. "What is she waiting for, we're in here together, aren't we?" He huffed as he took a seat in the corner.

"I have an idea," Cora said quickly removing her jewelry, shoes, and gloves. "Robert, could you help me with my hair?" Robert walked over to the dressing table and helped Cora remove her hair ornaments. Then he unpinned her long dark hair and watched it tumble down her back. He felt that twinge in his crotch again. He so desperately wanted to kiss a particularly delicious looking spot where her neck met her shoulder. "Thank you," Cora smiled,"and could you help me unbutton my dress?"

"What?" Robert asked not believing what he was hearing. "I thought you didn't want to…"

"I don't," Cora said, "but you mother has to think that we have." She looked over her shoulder at him, her velvety soft dark hair caressing her cheek, "Please, Robert, just trust me." He pulse was racing as he fell under the spell of those big, blue eyes. He began to unfasten the row of little buttons down the back of her midnight blue gown. He slipped the fabric off her shoulders and watched it pool of the floor. They both reddened as Cora made one more request of him. "Could you loosen my corset?" He did as he was asked, enjoying every movement his wife made.

He thought he'd better be a gentleman - he doubted she'd intended for him to enjoy this so much - so he let her take care of the rest and turned his back to give her some privacy, but then he noticed her dressing table with it's large mirror just beside him. He couldn't resist. He watched her undress and then slip into a white silk negligée. His body had developed a mind of its own again and he grabbed a book and covered himself as he turn to his wife. "What on earth are you doing?" he asked in complete disbelief.

Cora was jumping on the bed. "Outwitting you mother and buying us few days peace before she's encamped outside our bedroom doors again." He'd known Cora was clever and funny, two traits he'd always found attractive, but at that moment, it was her looks that captivated him. The thin silk revealed the silhouette of her body beneath it. He noticed how her breasts jiggled with every jump and he wondered to himself whether Sir Issac Newton's talk of apples had been a euphemism for a romp with a pretty lady. Surely, this was a far more enjoyable way to note the effects of gravity. He took off his shoes and jacket and jumped up there with her, still trying to keep the physical form of his desire for her out of sight. They giggled and jumped around until they figured Lady Grantham had gone to bed and then they lay together to catch their breath.

Robert rolled onto his side and looked at Cora. "You look like and angel in white. You're my angel. My beautiful angel."

Cora cuddled up as close as she could get to him and he wrapped his arms around her. "This feels heavenly," she said softly and stroked Robert's cheek. "I have a confession to make Robert." She looked deeply into his eyes. "I think it's possible that I might be in love with you." She rolled on her side and shifted even closer hoping for a kiss when her thigh grazed the bulge in Robert's pants. He hopped up and gave hurried apologies as he grabbed his jacket, shoes and tie and rushed through the door joining their bedrooms without the slightest hint of an explanation. This was all too much and he didn't want to be embarrassed again. He also didn't want her to feel that she had to satisfy his body's desires when she did not want to, not matter how delightful it would no doubt feel to hold her soft body so close and feel her move beneath him. Robert sighed as he undressed and got into his bed which seemed a little colder than he'd remembered it being before.

Cora was left sitting on her bed wondering what she'd done wrong. "Robert" she whimpered. She wrapped herself in a blanket and curled up against the door to his bedroom as the tears started. "Robert, what have I done? Please tell me and I'll try to fix it. I'm sorry. I didn't mean to upset you. Please come back Robert. Please. I'm sorry, Robert." Her pleas and apologies melted into sobs as she cried herself to sleep there on the floor.

Robert could hear her crying as he lay on he bed trying to process his feelings for Cora, what she said she felt for him, and the effect she had on him. He couldn't sleep well even after Cora stopped crying. He felt like an absolute cad and a coward.


	4. Money Isn't Everything

Richard Crawley was surprised to see his son waiting for him in the foyer. They usually walked together in the mornings, but he had expected his son to be sleeping in after Violet had told him what she'd seen and heard the night before. Robert didn't notice him approaching and seemed to be in another world entirely. "Everything alright, my boy?" the Earl asked as his words brought Robert back to reality. "What has you so deep in thought this fine morning?"

"Physics,'" Robert replied. "Physics, gravity, and apples," he said as they stepped out into the sunlight.

"I don't remember you enjoying the study of science when you were away at school? In fact, that was one of your more detested subjects, as I recall. You referred to that Professor Hogarth as an 'emotionless troll', if my memory serves me correctly." The Earl laughed at his son's eye rolling. He was so young and yet so much had changed. Little more than a two years before he'd been a schoolboy complaining about teachers and exams. Now he was a married man with far more subtle and complex problems to deal with. "Have you had a change of heart about the study of the natural world? Might we have a scholar in the family yet?" Lord Grantham, though not directly involved in academia, loved learning and had built up an extensive library. He had hoped Robert would be more interested in academics, but that hadn't been the case.

"Not if the scholar you have in mind is me," Robert said with a smile as he and his father began their early morning tour of the grounds. "It's just a silly notion that came into my head last night about gravity and the use of the word apples as a euphemism."

"Last night?" his father asked with a knowing grin. "If your mother's snooping is to be believed, I don't think I wish to know any more about it," He was joking but it was joking with a purpose. He had suspected that all might not have been as it had appeared to his nosy wife and those suspicions were confirmed by his son's despondent expression. "I don't mean to pry, my boy - and you're free to tell me to mind my own business - but… is everything alright between you and Cora?"

Robert sighed and his shoulders slumped. "I don't think I'm very good at being married." His father nodded understandingly. "How could you tell?"

"Well, first off you wouldn't be up so early. You would be upstairs snuggled in the passionate embrace of your pretty, American bride. We'd be lucky to see the two of you much before teatime!" Lord Grantham clapped his son on the shoulder as they ventured off the path to a clearing by the lake where they could sit and talk undisturbed. "Secondly, you wouldn't look so miserable if you were spending you evenings exploring the many delightful aspects of wedded bliss," the Lord said as he watched his son slump down onto a bench as if he was shouldering a burden nearly too heavy for him to manage.

"You make it sound as if I were madly in love with her. I'm not, Father, I'm just not. Ours was a transaction. Romance was not in the cards for us." Robert was icily direct. There was no use in beating around the bush. All of this was common knowledge in the family. And yet, even though Cora knew all this as well, thinking of her while he spoke so coldly about their marriage still made him feel guilty, but he didn't share that information with his father. "There is no passion between us. We're merely partners in the business of lineage." Robert said with a sigh as he thought about the night before when he'd held his wife close and called her his angel. She'd looked so radiantly happy in that moment before he'd run away from her like a fool.

Lord Grantham was sure this hadn't been the entirely emotionless business deal his son had implied it was. There was something more there. It was obvious that Cora felt something for Robert. Whenever he was around her eyes brightened. She cherished every compliment he gave her however small. She looked every bit like a nineteen-year-old girl who was completely besotted with a young man who barely gave her the time of day. The Earl wondered whether their was some little hint of affection on his son's side as well in spite of all his denials. Richard looked out over the lake. He wanted this to be a helpful discussion, not a confrontational one so figured it was best not to stand over the lad as he inquired further. "If all you were after was money, then why did you choose Cora?" he asked. "While she is superlative in many ways, she was never the wealthiest girl at those parties. There was one that was particularly taken with you and her fortune was considerably more substantial." He looked at his son and began howling with laughter. Robert hadn't made a face like that since the time his sister, Rosamund, put an eel down his shirt when he was seven.

"Dear God, Father, you can't mean Hortense Talbot?" Robert cringed again as he thought of the woman he had spent nearly every waking moment of his time in America trying to avoid. His father guffawed again. "There are fates worse than poverty and fates worse than death. One of them would be to be spending the rest of my natural life married to Hortense Talbot. There is no amount of money in existence that would have been able to make me even remotely consider that prospect." His father sat next to him trying to catch his breath after laughing until he was red faced and teary eyed.

_Hortense Talbot was the only surviving child of a Texan rancher turned oil tycoon named Jedson Talbot. Since striking what he so loudly and often referred to as "black gold" about a dozen years prior to their meeting, he had literally gone from rags to riches. It was a life story that might have been heartwarming had it happened to a better man. As it was, it hadn't. Jedson Talbot was loud, rude, ill mannered, and obscenely self-congratulating to name a few of his many failings._

_When they had met the Talbots the previous year at some June event or another he attended with his father in New York, Robert had complained afterward that, "Hearing the man speak, you'd think he had created the oil, rather than found it," but Lord Grantham had already heard about the size of Hortense's fortune, so they bore with what passed for conversation with Mr. Talbot as Robert surreptitiously scanned the room to see if he could pick out the Talbot's multimillion dollar daughter. That was the first time he'd set eyes on Cora Levinson. She'd been the most attractive young lady there. She'd noticed him staring and smiled at him, but then he'd heard a shrieking voice with a very pronounced Texan drawl and known that the beauty he was staring at was not Hortense Talbot. After managing to pull his eyes away from the most stunning blue eyes he'd ever seen, he'd immediately spotted the young Miss Talbot. She was a loud, overly made up, spoilt, girl in a garish dress with a bodice that bordered on the scandalous, both figuratively and physically. Her social graces would have been deemed unacceptable in the servants' quarters of most aristocratic English houses, let alone among the gentry._

_In what Robert had found to be one of the cosmos' cruelest jokes, Hortense had taken a liking to him and wouldn't leave him alone. Eventually, he'd managed to get away from his overzealous admirer and was sneaking out onto a balcony for a bit of peace when he turned a corner and bumped into Cora and spilling her drink on her. He'd taken out a handkerchief and then got a look at where the spill was - on her bosom just above the neckline of her burgundy gown. She'd smiled and giggled sweetly as he averted his eyes and handed her the handkerchief. She'd introduced herself. He'd done the same and they had talked briefly before he'd heard Hortense calling. He had to get moving or be at her mercy for another hour at the least so he_ _hastily excused himself. At the next New York party he'd attended, and while he was again trying to evade Miss Talbot's attentions, Cora found him, returned his handkerchief, and they talked a little more. That had turned out to be the beginning of their life together. It seemed so long ago, but it had only been a year._

"Hortense Talbot, yes. She certainly was after you." Lord Grantham chuckled. "Tracked you around those parties like a bloodhound."

"She's not as intelligent or well behaved as a bloodhound, Father," Robert said with a smirk, "Can you imagine what Mama would've said?"

"Yes," Lord Grantham smiled, "Nothing. She'd have fainted straight away." Father and son laughed. "So," Lord Grantham continued, "evidently it wasn't all about Cora's money, was it?"

"I guess not," Robert said beginning to get defensive.

"I have no interest in arguing with you, my boy, so this will be the last thing you hear from me on this topic unless you ask my advice," The Lord said. "Robert, a lot has changed in your life in very short time, but you must adapt to it. You can't spend all of your time on your own like you did before. You're a married man and you need to spend some time with your wife - getting her settled into life at Downton and as a married woman. I'm not suggesting that you spend all your days entertaining her, but a little walk every afternoon alone together would probably do wonders for you both. It's a big adjustment for her. Remember that Cora gave up everything she'd ever known to come here and be your wife. If you can't give her love, and least show her some kindness. Pay attention to her. Make her feel wanted."


	5. A New Friend

There were many things that Cora found difficult to deal with in regards to her new life, but possibly the most difficult was having to pay social calls with her mother-in-law. Lady Grantham was nothing short of vicious. She entertained her friends by poking fun at "Robert's souvenir from America." Even though these outings were supposed to help her settle into the local society circles, she hadn't really managed to make much of them thanks to her mother-in-law's acerbic commentary. Yet there she was, in a champagne colored day dress and matching hat, sitting in a carriage next to Lady Grantham, going to have tea at the home of another aristocratic lady. Cora sighed wishing that she were back home going for a walk with Robert. He'd never asked her to walk with him, but if she could pick anything else to be doing at that moment, she'd pick going for a walk hand in hand with her handsome husband.

When they arrived she said her hellos and participated in the conversation as much as she could considering she barely knew the people being gossiped about. As she glanced around the room, Cora noticed a small child peeking into the parlor from the hallway. She waved and the little girl smiled at her. The child looked to be about three, with thick blond curls and big green eyes. Though Cora knew her mission was to produce an heir to the Grantham title, but as she watched the little girl wave back at her, she thought about how nice it would be to have a daughter of her own.

Quietly, Cora slipped away from the heated discussion about whether Lady Smithfeild would ever get her twin daughters married considering they resembled oxen in both bulk and intellect to go and say hello to the little observer. She reached the door just as the tea and cakes arrived. She stealthily took one of the frosted blackberry teacakes off a tray as she passed and snuck into the hall. She handed it to her new friend and the child thanked her. "What's your name?" Cora asked.

"Octavia Bennet. I'm a Lady." the child said with her mouth very full. Cora smiled. "What's your name?" Octavia asked as she continued eating her cake.

"I'm Cora Lev… Crawley. Cora Crawley, or Lady Bonneville, I guess. Viscountess Bonneville. You can just call me Cora" Usually, either Robert's mother or father was introducing her to people, so she hadn't gotten used to saying her new and significantly name yet.

"Did you just get married?" Octavia asked licking the last of the frosting from her fingers.

The question surprised Cora. "Why yes! Two months ago this past Saturday. How did you know?"

"When Mama has friends over that just got married, they always forget their last name." the little girl said with the bluntness only a child and Lady Grantham seemed able to get away with. "You don't sound like everyone else who visits." Cora thought about how her mother-in-law would've love that statement.

"Yes, that's because I'm from America." Cora replied.

"Is it nice there?" Since her arrival at Downton Abbey, this conversation with Octavia was one of the few in which Cora felt as if she was a full participant.

"Yes, it's very nice there and I miss it very much." This was the first time Cora had admitted that she missed her old life.

"So why did you leave?" Octavia had no idea how complicated a question that was or that Cora had been questioning that decision for the better part of a month.

"I married an English man, so I came here to be with him." she answered trying not to let her voice reveal the growing doubt she was feeling about the choice she had made in that area. Robert was intelligent, kind, and incredibly handsome, but he also seemed almost unaware of her existence. She wasn't a fool. She had known why he had pursued her and she hadn't expected love, but she had hoped for friendship. It looked as if even that was all in vain.

"Since you're staying here, will you come visit and play with me sometimes?" Octavia asked hopefully. "I get bored and everyone is always fussing over my baby brother."

"Of course I will." Cora smiled.

"So we can be friends?" the little girl asked.

"Yes, we can be friends," Cora confirmed. She'd just made her first friend in England. She tried to dismiss the question floating around in her head - _Shouldn't Robert have been your first friend in England?_

"Octavia Bennet, what are you doing out of the nursery?" Lady Bennet said. "Oh, I hope she hasn't been a nuisance, Cora."

"Not at all. She's darling." Cora said

"Mama," Octavia said taking her mother's hand, "can I go in with you and have a biscuit?"

"Ok, but just this once. Little girls belong in the nursery." Her mother and Cora followed little Octavia as she bounded into the parlor. "I'm sorry, Lady Grantham, but it seems we have an escapee from the nursery in our midst."

"This can't be Octavia." Violet said placing a plate of cake and on the chair next to her as she turned to the child. "Oh Lily, she is an absolute doll. And that reminds me, how is the little lord of the manor? Edgar, was it?"

"Yes, Edgar is fine. He's sleeping now, thank heaven. Now if he could only get through the night." Lady Bennet said with a sigh.

Cora went to take her seat by Lady Grantham. "No, Cora, wait!" Octavia yelled as Cora sat down.

"Octavia Bennet, mind you manners. Her name is Lady Bonneville. And what could be so important that you have to howl like an urchin?" Lady Bennet scolded.

The little girl stared at her feet as she tried to explain. "I'm sorry, but I was trying to tell Cor... Lady Bonneville that she was about to sit in cake." She looked at Cora who sat very stiff and straight, her eyes wide with shock and the corners of her mouth turned downward in discomfort at the sticky, squishy mess she could feel soaking through her clothes. "Sorry." Octavia said before returning her focus to her feet.

Cora stood slowly and tried to see if her dress was salvageable. It had been one of her favorites. Sadly, the frosting and berries left a purple and white splotchy smear on the seat of the champagne colored skirt and she was almost convinced the stain would be permanent. She noticed the plate on the seat of her chair. "How did that get there?" she asked observing Violet's complete lack of surprise.

"That doesn't matter now, does it? Just be thankful you didn't break the china," Lady Grantham said as she took a sip of tea.

"Lady Grantham put it there when you weren't looking, Lady Bonneville," Octavia said in spite of her mother attempts to quiet her.

"I mustn't have been paying attention," Violet said without a bit of remorse. "Obviously, neither were you or you'd have seen it instead of sitting on it."

Cora felt the tension building in her jaw. She was furious. "I'll be going now," she said.

"I'm not ready to leave," Violet snipped.

"I'll send the carriage back for you." Cora said with an obviously insincere smile. She accepted Lily Bennet's many apologies and ignored the rest of her mother-in-law's fussing. "May I have a newspaper or something to sit on during the ride?" she asked.

"Won't that ruin your dress," Lily said

"I think it already is," Cora replied and a paper was brought to her. As she settled into the carriage Octavia ran out of the house.

"Does this mean you won't come to see me?" the girl asked.

Cora smiled "Of course I'll come to see you. We're friends, remember?"

Octavia smiled. "Oh good. I can't wait." The girl's mother and nurse were calling her as she stood in the yard waving goodbye to Cora.

"Am I to come back to pick up Her Ladyship?" Ian, the chauffeur asked.

"No," Cora answered. "I think I heard her say something about making her own way home."

"That's odd," The chauffeur said "she's always so particular about me waiting."

"Yes, I know," Cora said as she fought back a smile. "but it's been an odd day.

* * *

><p>AN Yes, Viscount and Viscountess Bonneville. They needed lower titles until Robert becomes the Earl. I did my best.


	6. Trying to Be Better

To Light a Fire

Cora knew that she was in for an argument when she saw Lady Grantham riding in a carriage with Lord Grantham. She was ready for it, too. She was finished trying to please these people and sick of trying to fit in. She stayed in her room and waited for what was coming. She could hear her mother-in-law's raised voice as she told her son about being left at the Bennet's and having to walk to the village where she had only met up with her husband by chance. Cora heard Robert's footsteps as he approached her room and she was ready for whatever he had to say. She took a deep breath as he bargged into her room with fury written across his features.

"What is the meaning of this!" he roared. "You stranded my mother at someone's home? Are you trying to make this family a laughing stock?"Robert fumed. "I don't know how they do things in America, but here we treat each other with respect."

Cora couldn't hold her tongue at that remark. "Respect? I have never been treated with anything approaching respect from the moment I set foot in this house! I have been ignored…"

"I shouldn't be expected to spend my days entertaining you." Robert interjected.

"I was never asking for entertainment, Robert, I wanted acknowledgement. Just a little attention that let me know you remembered that I live here." Cora wasn't finished. "Instead I've been derided every single day and every time I'm in anyone's company!" Robert started to say something but Cora kept talking. "My clothes are too flashy. I'm not pretty enough for you. There's apparently something wrong with my voice. I'm not as refined as the English girls you could've married. I'm an American. I hear these things every day and they are never less hurtful. Now today I was humiliated, for a reason completely unknown to me! I know you don't care about my emotions, and that I'm no one's ideal spouse, but I never expected to be treated this way by you. I had though you were kinder that this." Tears began to well up in her eyes but Robert ignored them.

"So you abandoned my mother because she hurt your feelings? How childish can you be?" Robert sneered.

Cora showed her husband her stained day dress. "She put cake on my chair and you're calling me childish?"She sighed."Robert, I know I was wrong not to send that carriage back for her but I was so angry and I'm so very unhappy. I'm sorry."

"You bet your sorry!" Robert rumbled. "My reputation - this family's reputation - is on the line in every social setting. You behaved appallingly today and it reflects badly on us all. Oh, you bet you're sorry! You…"

"I want to go home!" Cora cried before putting her face in her hands and sobbing.

That took all of the fight out of Robert. He had been hoping it wouldn't come to this. For some reason - a reason that had nothing to do with the possibility of scandal or the financial ruin that would come from having to return Cora's dowery and lose her inheritance - he couldn't bear the thought of her leaving. He liked her in spite of everything else and he couldn't bear the thought of not having her around. As Cora looked at him with tears in her eyes, she saw how defeated he looked and it broke her heart. "Robert, I… I'm sorry." She reached out to touch his arm, but he pulled away from her.

"I'll leave you alone now," he said solemnly. As he opened the door, he turned back to look at his pretty, miserable, very young wife. "I'm sorry, too," he said gently. "I'm sorry… for all of it." He left her room and went as quickly as he could to try to find his father. He wanted to ask about the possibility of freeing this sweet girl from this marriage that seemed to be a nightmare for her even if it hurt him to do so. His heart was breaking because of this woman whom he hadn't realized had found such a prominent place in it. Tears rolled down his face as he searched for his parents who were nowhere to be found.

"Would you like to tell me why we're wandering aimlessly around the grounds?" Violet asks her husband, Richard, as they walked. He had hustled them out of the house once the fight upstairs could be heard in the foyer.

"Because," Richard explained, "one of those two young people upstairs who haven't even figured out how to be married yet is going to ask for a divorce. Then Robert will come looking for me to see how quickly it can be done. Then I will be part of that fight. I don't want to be involved at all. I'm hoping that if we leave them alone, things will sort themselves out and they might even be better off. Marriage isn't an easy business and they need to learn that. Robert needs to learn that. I think Cora has already found that to be the case." The Lord's thoughts turned to his daughter-in-law. "American or not, I grow more impressed with our Cora by the day. Robert made a far better choice than he realizes, I think."

"You should've seen her with Lily Bennet's little girl, Richard. She's going to be a wonderful mother. She's actually a very nice girl, for an American, of course." Violet said.

"So why did you embarrass her so? Putting cake on her chair, Violet? The poor girl will be a laughing stock if you keep it up." Richard scolded. "She's never going to fit in if you make it impossible for her to do so. Do you really dislike her that much, Violet, honestly?"

"You know perfectly well that I have nothing personal against her. I hadn't meant for her to sit on that cake, I was busy talking with Lily and hadn't been paying attention to her. By the time I turned around, she was already sitting and I knew her first instinct would be to say I'd put it there on purpose." Violet said.

"So why didn't you explain that it was an accident?" Richard asked. "Cora is a sweet girl. She would've understood."

"I didn't want to look like a dumb old fool, Richard. I didn't want to give the impression that this new, young, American was taking my place." Violet confessed to her husband. He smiled took her hand as they walked and looked into her eyes as the sunset painted the sky. He stroked his wife's cheek. "I'm afraid she'll replace me."

Richard smiled reassuringly at his wife. "No one will think you're senile because one mistake, and you shouldn't view Cora as your competition. She'd make her own place here if you would only let her. You need to sort things out with her soon. It'll make it a lot easier for her to begin to feel at home here." He kissed both his wife's hands and smiled. "She's good for our boy, Violet. If he'd stop being so stubborn about it all, I think she'd make him an extremely happy man." They couple continued to talk as the headed back to the house.

When They arrived, the butler, Gregory, was there to greet them. "It seems that both Lord Robert and his wife will not be coming down for dinner, My Lord."

"Very well. They'll ring if they need anything," Richard said as her turned to his wife. "Well, my dear, it seems we're dining alone this evening. I've got a chance to romance you now." he said with a mischievous grin. Violet blushed. Richard's eyes twinkled as he lead his giggling wife to the dining room.

Robert heard footsteps coming up the stairs and rushed into the hall to talk to his father, but when he saw how happy his parents looked, all he could do was wish them goodnight and trudge back to his self-made purgatory in his bedroom. He was wide awake and hungry. He looked at the door to Cora's bedroom. If she was still awake, she might be hungry too and Mrs. Winters, the cook, would be more apt to put together something more substantial than sandwiches if the two of them went down together. He got up and knocked lightly on the door that connected his dressing room and his wife's bedroom. "Cora? Cora are you still awake?" For a minute there was silence and then the door opened a crack and he was once again face to face with her. Her blue eyes always melted any thoughts he had and it took him a moment to compose them again.

"I don't want to argue anymore tonight," she pleaded. She opened the door fully and stood in from of him wearing another nightgown he could just about see through. This one was a lovely peach color. He tried not to stare with limited success.

"I don't want to argue either. I was going to go down to the kitchen and get something to eat. I was hoping you'd join me," Robert said gently. He could see her incredulous expression. He held out his hand to her.

"Give me a minute," she said, "I need my robe and slippers." Honestly, she wasn't too pleased about spending any more time with him at the moment, but she was very hungry.

Robert waited anxiously for the soft knock on the door and when it came, he offered her his hand again. When she took it his smile seemed to brighten the room. "I promise I'll try to do better by you," he said. Cora had been hurt too many times to to let his promise raise her hopes, but his smile and the way his thumb stroked the back of her hand had an effect on her no matter how she tried to ignore it. Robert got a candle and together they made their way down to the kitchen.

When they got there, the only one in the kitchen was the assistant cook, Beryl, who went pale as a ghost when she turned around and saw her future employers standing in the doorway. After Robert managed to calm her down, she quickly set about making them something to eat. The activity in the kitchen got the attention of the housekeeper, Mrs. Smythe, as she made her final tour through the house. Without making herself known, she went to get Gregory, the butler, to get the pair some wine. Meanwhile, Beryl couldn't stop apologizing for not serving them "a meal befitting their station". Robert and Cora both assured her that is was quite alright. "I'm sorry I don't have more of the pear tart, M'lord," Beryl said as she put the only remaining piece in front of the couple.

"We can share," Robert said looking at his wife. He took bit of tart on his fork and fed it to her. Cora smiled timidly at him.

"Oh, Beryl, this is wonderful. Pear tart is my favorite dessert and I honestly have never had one that compares to this one."

"Thank you, M'lady." the assistant cook said with pride. "It's sort of my specialty."

"It's my favorite dessert too," Robert said. He was pleased that he'd finally found something he had in common with his bride. After they finished and thanked Beryl, Mrs. Smythe, and Gregory, they walked around the house talking for hours. When there was nothing left to explore they returned to their rooms. "I wish I didn't have to say goodnight to you." Robert said.

Cora hadn't forgotten about their fight or the weeks he'd been keeping her at arms length, but after the hours they'd just spent together, she was willing to keep trying to make her marriage a happy one. "Then don't." They gazed into each other's eyes as he wrapped his arm around her waist and they both went into her room for the night. They fell asleep wrapped in each others arms as the first rays of dawn could be seen on the horizon.


	7. Beautiful Dreamer

A/N - Just a bit of extra fluff. Didn't think you'd mind.

* * *

><p>When Robert opened his eyes he was in an unfamiliar room, in an unfamiliar bed, with a woman whom he scarcely knew, but was nonetheless bonded to for life clinging affectionately to him. He couldn't figure out how to get free of her embrace without waking her, so he laid there and thought about how he'd come to be there in the first place. He had never liked change and it seemed like life had been nothing but change for the past two years. He'd been denied his bucolic Downton summer and packed off to New York and then London in search of a wealthy bride. After he'd found a suitable wife and brought her back home, the life he'd known before simply didn't exist anymore. Suddenly everyone was talking about him as partners and a team and he didn't know what the game was, how to play it, what the score was, whether he was winning, and he could barely understand his teammate.<p>

He looked down at the pretty, American enigma that lay with her head on his chest. What made her happy? What made her sad? What had made her give up her home, her country, her entire way of life, and travel thousands of miles to be the wife of a man who did not love her? It wasn't his title. There was a duke - and old friend of Robert's from school - who had been quite interested in her when they'd met in London, but she had barely taken any notice of him and stuck by Robert's side unyieldingly from the moment she'd arrived in England. It hadn't been his looks. He had never been the best looking man at any of those balls, though Cora had certainly been the most beautiful woman there, as far as Robert was concerned. It couldn't have been the estate. There were grander homes with eligible sons out there and the place was nearly bankrupt when they'd married. It couldn't possibly have been his family. When he'd brought her and her parents to Downton Abbey for luncheon one afternoon, his sister, Rosamund, had loudly talked about "Robert's curious fascination with American women." His mother hadn't been any kinder. She'd given his guest's dress one look and asked if Cora was "planning to stay for luncheon or sing an aria at them." He could see their words were hurting Cora and he and his father had done whatever they could to soften their impact. Displaying a surprising level of decorum for an American, Cora had taken it all in stride, even telling his mother how she hoped they would see each other soon before thanking her for her hospitality. He'd known then that, in spite of her soft voice and timid demeanor, she could stand up to both his mother and sister with poise and grace. He'd proposed two days later. She'd been so happy that day. His memory flashed to her tearfully yelling "I want to go home," the night before. He wished he could turn back the clock and have another chance to get it right. She deserved so much better.

Cora sighed and snuggled into him. "Oh, Robert," she murmured in her sleep, "I love you."

He hated change. Wrapped in her arms like that he couldn't stretch out or get up and she'd taken most of the covers, but when Cora whispered she loved him in her sleep Robert couldn't imagine being happy sleeping alone again. He woke her with gentle kisses.


	8. Resignation, Romance, and Strawberries

Summer had melted into autumn and Cora's life at Downton had settled into a routine. She still wasn't often happy these days, but her resignation to her situation had dulled her intense longing for her old life. She didn't cry herself to sleep anymore either. It wasn't because she didn't feel like it, but because she wasn't left alone to do it. Ever since one mid-June evening which had started with an argument with her husband and ended with the two of them asleep in the same bed for the first time since their honeymoon, she and Robert had been sharing her bed. She didn't know why and he wouldn't tell her anything more than that she was "good company", but now, no matter what the day brought them, he'd come into her room and climb into bed beside her. The next morning would find her snuggling close and his arms holding her tightly even though they never remembered falling asleep that way. Well, almost never. On one stormy July night, Robert had skipped a dinner with friends when he was in London on business and traveled well into the night all to come to bed with her at home instead of staying the night alone at their London house or at his college club. "I had so longed to hold you in my arms after such a difficult day," he'd whispered as he kissed her awake. He was usually so distant that she had a hard time believing he'd feel that strongly about her, but if his words had just been a ploy to get her to make love to him, it had worked at least in part because she so very much wished that they were true.

That time - only their second - had gone much better than the first since they were more comfortable which each other. Cora had thought to herself that, with a little practice - practice she'd been getting more and more of since then - it might be as enjoyable for her as it seemed to be for her husband. He'd still been smiling when they went to luncheon with his parents the next day and everything everyone said seemed, to Cora, to have double meaning. It kept her blushing through most of the meal. Looking back, she figured it was impossible for them to have been any more obvious - her looking rosy and bashful and him grinning like a fool. Thankfully, mercifully, Richard and Violet hadn't said anything about the odd behavior, though Cora still didn't know where her mother-in-law had found the self-control.

Cora's relationship with Lady Violet had not improved much at all since they'd visited the Bennet's, but the tension manifested itself in the two of them making a conscious effort to spend as little time as possible in each other's presence so Cora left the problem unresolved. She was leaving a lot of things unresolved because she was tired of trying to manufacture emotion where there was none. Aside from Robert sleeping in her bed and sometimes attempting to beget an heir, very little had changed for her in her new life with the exception of her outlook. She had come to accept that there would be no love for her and she'd stopped chasing it. She no longer hung on her husband's every word hoping he'd acknowledge her adoration or even take note of her presence. She no longer waited for him to go upstairs with her. She rarely initiated conversations in hopes of getting to know him better. She'd decided the best way to make Robert happy was to leave him alone. He'd spent months keeping her at a distance during the day, even after he'd begun to seek her out at night. She didn't understand it and it hurt her to try. Every explanation pointed to his evening attentions as more a result of a sense of duty rather than a feeling of desire. When she thought about it, she felt used - like she was just some toy to be played with and discarded at will - so she thought about it as little as possible. She had taken a similar "evade and ignore" approach in dealing with her mother-in-law. Violet had made it abundantly clear that she did not like Cora - "that American interloper" - so Cora avoided her company and said as little as possible when she was in the Countess' company. It made for a very lonely existence when she wasn't out visiting the friends she had slowly begun to make, but Cora found the pain of self-imposed isolation to be less stinging than the pain of constant rejection.

Cora had walked down to the village for no reason other than to get out of the house. She wandered around just enjoying the the hum of activity around her. She was lost in thought when she heard a familiar voice calling her name. She turned and saw her father-in-law approaching her. Out of all the people in the house, he was the only one who always seemed truly happy to see her. "I hadn't expected to find you here. What brings you down to the village, Cora?" Lord Grantham said.

"Oh," Cora sighed, "nothing in particular. I just needed to get away." As the words left her mouth, she realized what a revealing statement she'd made and could tell by her father-in-law's expression that he had heard it that way too. She began to apologize but the Earl just looked at her with great concern and motioned to a bench. She took a seat and he sat beside her.

Richard tried to ignore the deeper meaning of his daughter-in-law's statement. "You could've gone to Ripon with Robert. I'm sure he'd have loved to have you along with him." He wasn't surprised that she didn't look convinced, but it still was painful to see. She was a young woman married less than a year - she should have looked blissful, but she usually looked about ready to burst into tears.

"I wouldn't have wanted to intrude. He didn't invite me," she said softly as she looked down. "He seems happiest when I leave him to himself."

"You must know he's concerned about you, Cora." Richard said reassuringly. "He may not know how to tell you, but he's missing you. You've been withdrawn in the last month or so. It worries him."

"He's rarely given me the slightest indication that he remembers I exist." Cora murmured.

"You're all he talks about at breakfast," Richard said with a smile. "That is, when he manages to make it to breakfast. He's become quite a late sleeper lately." Richard genuinely didn't know what had caused his son to suddenly start sleeping later, but he noticed his daughter-in-law's embarrassed expression and quickly changed the subject. "Do you like strawberries?"

"What?" The abrupt change of topic had taken Cora by surprise. "Yes, but why do you ask?"

"The village shop carries dried strawberries that are delicious. Robert loves them. So do I. I thought we could go pick some up." Richard said. He lead Cora to the shop. "When Robert and Rosamund were small, they'd raid the kitchen for dried strawberries. Mrs. Winters couldn't keep them away." Cora smiled as she thought of her handsome, serious husband as a former strawberry thief. She'd been hoping to find some little thing for him while she was out. In spite of the state their relationship was in, it was sort of a special day for them and she thought she ought to acknowledge it. Richard introduced her to Marcus, the store's owner, who gladly let her sample the strawberries her father-in-law has raved about, and Toby, the shop assistant. He was about Cora's age and was clearly struck by this elegant beauty.

"We've gotten some lovely chocolate in - the young Lord's favorite kind. Would you like to try some, M'lady?" Marcus offered.

"Yes, please, if it's not too much trouble," Cora loved chocolate and hadn't had any since coming to Downton.

Toby took out some of the chocolate and handed it to Cora. He watched this new, somewhat exotic, very pretty woman as she put the sweet to her lips. He watched her pink, full lips form a smile which also brightened her beautiful, blue eyes. The contrast between her dark hair and pale skin was striking. He allowed his gaze to wander downward once she turned away from him to tell Marcus how much she enjoyed the chocolate. "The young Lord has excellent taste," Marcus said with a smile.

"He certainly does," Toby said keeping his eyes on Cora and studying the curves of her figure. He was too busy staring to notice that both the Earl and his employer had noticed that his interest in Cora had precious little to do with selling her chocolate.

Marcus had to put an end to this disgraceful behavior. "Toby, remember you have to check the stock of the baking supplies in the back - the flour, the baking powder, the sugar, molasses, all of it. You'd best get started now, lad." Toby had been enjoying watching Cora's hips sway as she moved around the shop looking at everything. When he saw the expression on his Marcus' face, he knew he was in trouble. He quickly excused himself and went into the back room. He listened to the pretty girl's soft voice with it's unusual accent as she and her father-in-law made their purchases and left the store. Marcus came into the store room to yell at Toby for "ogling a future Countess" but, as Toby let his imagination go to work with this American beauty as its subject, he wasn't sure that it hadn't been worth it after all.

"It's getting late. We should start heading back." They continued their conversation on their way back to Downton Abbey. They talked about a number of things before they were once again back on the topic of Cora's marriage. "I truly don't mean to intrude into your private life, my girl." Lord Grantham said as the house came into view. "If I have, I apologize. I assure you, Robert will come around one of these days. He thinks much more highly of you than you realize. One day he'll do something to show you that. He does care for you a great deal."

Cora gave a half-hearted smile. "I'd love to believe you."

They noticed Robert waiting to meet them. He seemed anxious. When they approached him, Cora tried to think of a way to make their meeting brief. She attempted to ignore the concern she felt at seeing him so nervous, but couldn't succeed. Even though she told herself she couldn't make him feel better, there was still part of her that wanted to try. She wanted to stroke his cheek and run her fingers through his hair. She wanted to kiss away his worries and say whatever she could to make him happy.

"Is something wrong?" Lord Grantham asked. He'd watched her become more gloomy the closer they got to home.

"No, I was just daydreaming," she said with a hint of sadness in her voice.

"He misses you so, Cora," Richard said before taking the package she'd insisted on carrying herself from her going to greet his son.

Cora took as much time as she could getting to her husband but eventually she couldn't stall any more without looking childish. As soon as she was near Robert smiled warmly and held out a bouquet of dark red roses he'd been hiding behind his back. Cora was stunned. "These are for you." Robert's attempt at being suave and debonair looked more like an awkward teenager asking a girl to the county fair. "The night we met, you were wearing a dark red dress. I saw these flowers in Ripon and all I could think of was you in that dress." His wife blushed and smiled up at him. "I've missed that smile, Cora," he said and reached out to stroke her cheek.

"Well then, I'll be going." Richard said as he quickly went off to find Violet, leaving the young couple alone. Robert was relieved to see his father go, but Cora was focused on her husband's kind gesture to notice. She wondered if her husband remembered the significance of the date.

Robert came a little closer. "We've been married six months today. I know you aren't very happy here and I know you've been homesick, so I got this for you as well." He handed her a book - Walt Whitman's _Leaves of Grass_. "A bit of home for you. He writes a lot about America." They both knew, but didn't say, that the book had been loudly criticized because Whitman also wrote about physical love, too. "I thought we might be able to read a little of it tonight. Together."

"Robert," Cora said, finally finding her voice, "this is the sweetest thing anyone's ever done for me. I don't know what to say." Then she remembered her small present that Richard had taken in the house and she was embarrassed that she hadn't put more thought into his gift. "All I have for you are some chocolates and dried strawberries. Your father told me you liked them. I'm so sorry. I didn't think…" she turned away slightly, "I didn't think you'd remember."

Robert took her by the shoulders. "Of course I remember. You changed my life that day…" He took her hand and kissed it gently. "… for the better. Your company was the only gift I needed or expected, but I'd love to share those sweets with you later," he said with a playful smile. It wasn't clear how it happened or what initiated it. It could've been the look in her eyes or maybe it was his gentle touch. Neither of them knew. Suddenly, as if by a force outside their control, they met in a passionate kiss.

"Ooh, they're kissing now." Lady Grantham said peeking out the window.

"Stop spying, Violet. If they see you, it'll spoil the moment for them." Lord Grantham said taking his wife by the hand. "You always hated it when my mother spied on us."

"Yes, but we were different," Violet mused. "We were in the throws of a grand passion. Everything was an intrusion. Those two barely seem able to talk to each other most of the time. I just want to make sure they aren't arguing again."

"We were lucky, my sweet." Richard said as he kissed his wife's hand. "We were in love. They married for other reasons…" He took a quick look out the window at Robert and Cora who were still kissing, " ...but I think they may find they love each other as passionately as we do," he said holding his wife of thirty years tightly in his arms. "I'm still mad about you, Violet, and you're still the most beautiful woman in the world to me."

Violet squirmed and blushed as she pretended to try to push him away. "Richard Crawley, are you flirting with me?" He gave a boyish grin and the look in his eyes said it all. He leaned down and gently kissed her neck. "Oh! What will they say if we're late to dinner?" she said coyly.

Richard kissed her lips and then began to lead her in the direction of her bedroom. "I don't think the two outside will be all that interested in punctuality either."

Dinner time arrived and all four Crawley's were still upstairs. Rosamund and her husband Marmaduke had come from London for a visit, but found themselves in the drawing room alone. "I'm sorry for the delay, Lady Rosamund, " the butler, Gregory said a little unsure of how to handle the situation. "The others should be down shortly. I'm not entirely sure what's kept them."

Gregory retreated as Rosamund turned to her husband. "Well, dear, I don't know what could be keeping them," she huffed as she sat back down to continue to wait as Marmaduke helped himself to a brandy.


	9. Midnight Fire M RATED

A/N The italicized pieces are quotes from some of the poems in Leaves of Grass by Walt Whitman. krisnreine, I hope this is what you were looking for.

*********Reader Warning: This latest installment takes us well into M-rated territory. If that is not where you want to be, fear not, the T-rated content returns in the next chapter.*********

_"O you whom I often and silently come where you are that I may be with you,_

_As I walk by your side or sit near, or remain in the same room with you,_

_Little you know the subtle electric fire that for your sake is_

_playing within me."_

Robert had been sweeter to Cora in that one evening than he'd ever been before. She abandoned her attempts to keep her distance and, by the end of the night the two were in a world of their own. He had resolved that day to be a better husband. He had gone alone to Ripon and almost from the moment he left, his mind had been filled with thoughts of Cora, how he had promised to pay her more attention, and how measurably he'd failed at keeping that promise. He was reminded of her in small ways throughout his time there. The roses in the flower shop where he'd ordered the bouquet for her were the same color as her dress had been the first time they met. The dessert his business associate had served with tea was pear tart. An apple falling from a tree in someone's front garden made him think of Newton's discovery of gravity, which made him think of his own rediscovery of gravity when he'd watched his wife breasts jiggle as she jumped up and down on the bed to keep his meddling mother at bay. His preoccupation with her shouldn't have surprised him. The whole trip had been because of her. He had gone to pick up the book he'd ordered for her. He had requested the engraved bookplate say "To my loving Cora with all my honor" - admittedly not the most romantic sentiment ever penned - but what was inscribed was "To my lovely Cora, with all my heart.' He had almost complained, but the thought of her smiling at him again had made him think better of it. He'd figured he might even get a kiss.

He had gotten a kiss - and some afternoon lovemaking, but that had been rushed because they had to be ready for dinner. Now, as he made his way to the stairs, all he could think about was taking her in his arms and showing her what a changed man he was. He took the first step up the stairs and looked up to find Cora waiting for him on the landing. She hadn't waited for him to go upstairs with her for weeks. She smiled at him as he reached her side. "I've missed you so," he whispered to her.

"I need you, Robert," she said softly. He wasn't sure if she was talking about the months he'd spent pushing her away, or the future they would face together, or if she was referring to a more immediate, physical sort of need. He decided the best way to handle all three, plus his own emotional and physical needs, was to get to the bedroom quickly.

_"O to return to Paradise! O bashful and feminine!_

_O to draw you to me, to plant on you for the first time the lips of_

_a determin'd man."_

As soon as the door closed behind them, Robert captured Cora in a passionate kiss. He pinned here to the door and his body pressed against her as his kiss turned into an exploration. Her neck, her collarbone, her earlobe, and her lips were all points of interest and he let her giggles and gasps guide him.

_"Hair, bosom, hips, bend of legs, negligent falling hands all_

_diffused, mine too diffused, …"_

When the need for oxygen finally got the better of them, the focus turned to undressing each other. Clothing began to cover the floor - jacket, dress, waistcoat, shoes, eventually a corset, and all the rest. Before long they stood together in the half darkness of candles and moonlight that danced on their bare skin. Cora quickly took off her earrings and placed them on the dressing table. She was naked except for a diamond necklace - a wedding present from Robert - which sparkled like a collection of stars around his angel's neck.

_"Touch me, touch the palm of your hand to my body as I pass,_

_Be not afraid of my body."_

It was she that approached him as he stood there stunned by her etherial beauty that he'd never appreciated as much as he should have. She took his hand and dusted it with feather light kisses. She pressed it against her cheek at held it there. She closed her eyes and wished that she could make him understand how much she needed him. She looked into his eyes as she placed his hand on her chest. Her heart was pounding as she softly said, "My heart beats for you, Robert, please don't break it."

This was it. She was giving him one last chance to go back to the way things had been with the two of them as separate people. After that afternoon and the way he'd treated her that evening, Robert found that he could not go back to ignoring Cora the next day without wounding her in a way her heart might never recover from. The hint of sadness in her eyes that he hadn't seen all evening returned as she waited for him to do or say something. He pulled her close to him and kissed the back of her hand gently. He reached out and carefully touched the hair framing her face. He leaned down and kissed her lips lightly at first, but the with increasing urgency.

_"The curious roamer the hand roaming all over the body, the bashful_

_withdrawing of flesh where the fingers soothingly pause and_

_edge themselves, …"_

As they kissed, Robert let his hands wander over her. As he hands slid over her bottom, she wiggled. He gave her a playful squeeze and she pulled away from him in shock. He smiled and approached her again kissing her neck. His hands groped her back as his lips made there way to her breasts. He reached down to her bottom and grabbed her again. This time when she squirmed he slipped two long fingers between her legs making her yelp in surprise. She gasped and whimpered as Robert lips and fingers worked their magic on her until she could barely stand. His fingers retreated only when he carefully eased her down onto the bed.

_"From the long sustain'd kiss upon the mouth or bosom,_

_From the close pressure that makes me or any man drunk, fainting_

_with excess, …"_

She rolled on top of him and kissed his lips as her hand rested on his chest, her wedding ring glinting in the low light. As she kissed his neck and chest, he cupped her breast and ran his hand up her thigh. They continue to follow the sounds of one another's delight. A giggle. A gasp. A sigh. A moan. She slid her hands down his torso drawing delicate patterns as she moved closer to the part of him that waited impatiently for her attention. Suddenly Robert flipped her onto her back, "Cora, I can't hold on much longer," he groaned. She smiled flirtatiously and he felt her legs part to accept him.

They found a rhythm and moved together. She wrapped her legs around him as he pushed deeper into her and she cooed his name. He felt her warm breath on his neck and it only served to stoke the fire she'd built within him. He kissed her again stifling her soft moans of pleasure as he felt her back arch. She held him as close as she could as waves of pleasure the likes of which she'd never felt before began to wash over her.

_"From the act-poems of eyes, hands, hips and bosoms,_

_From the cling of the trembling arm,_

_From the bending curve and the clinch,_

_From side by side the pliant coverlet off-throwing,_

_From the one so unwilling to have me leave, and me just as unwilling_

_to leave, …"_

Cora's body shuddered as she and Robert reached ecstasy together and she cried out his name as he called hers. He grasped her hand tightly and she scratched her nails down his back as release came to them both. He collapsed on top of her and used the last of his energy to role onto his back as she got as close as she could to him. He lavished her with kisses and loving touches trying to make amends for the months he'd left her feeling so alone. He'd promised to do better before. This time he was determined to keep that oath as he watched Cora drift off to sleep feeling truly desired for the first time.

_"Here is realization,_

_Here is a man tallied—he realizes here what he has in him,_

_The past, the future, majesty, love—if they are vacant of you, you_

_are vacant of them."_

As he lay there lazily caressing his wife's back and waiting for sleep to overtake him, a sudden and unexpected thought jolted him out of the his post coital haze. Was this a life-changing revelation or an after effect of their passions? He couldn't be sure yet. He carefully brushed back the thick dark curls covering her face and looked at her there asleep with her head resting on his bare chest as this new, or at least newly discovered, feeling for her brewed inside his heart. Life and literature were full of stories of lives spent with an unloved partner - good, solid, proper, mutually beneficial matches with children and security that had been founded and conducted without the flame of love lighting their way. Robert hadn't even tried to find a soulmate. His marriage was a monetary arrangement to insure a future for his home and he had plucked a random - an astonishingly attractive, but nonetheless rather random - girl with a large enough fortune to do the job from a country thousands of miles away, and yet, somehow, without really trying to find her, he realized that he might actually be holding the love of his life in his arms.

She fidgeted in her sleep and tugged at the sheet. She was barely covered and the night air bore the chilly hints of the approaching winter. He loved the way the moonlight shown on Cora's bare body, but he didn't want her to be cold, so he gently draped a blanket over her and put his arms around her to keep her warm. If this emotion was real, fate had given him a gift beyond value and he was determined to prove worthy of it. She snuggled into his embrace and, as she did every so often, murmured the sweetest words he could ever hope to hear - "Robert, I love you," - as she continued to sleep.

"I think I may love you too, Cora," he whispered back to his wife as he kissed her on the forehead and joined her in slumber


	10. Under the Influence

When she heard the news, Cora leapt out of her chair and rushed out of the room without a word to her mother-in-law or the gaggle of society ladies around her. After a moment of silence, Mrs. Carter smiled and whispered to Violet, "Gone to whisper sweet nothings to her wounded champion, I imagine. How sweet!" Lady Violet rolled her eyes theatrically, but she couldn't keep her smile fully contained as the edges of her mouth curved ever so slightly.

Robert had dislocated his shoulder when he had tried to help an older village gentleman calm a frightened horse. It had reared and he'd stumbled over a few small stone steps. He'd tried to catch himself with his right arm, but instead he'd dislocated his shoulder and had come crashing down in a heap. Luckily, the doctor had been nearby and had tended to him almost immediately.

Cora rushed up the stairs, a blur of sage green and lace, and ran into her husband's dressing room without knocking and startling Dr. Lenox and Lord Richard. Robert lay with his eyes closed, his arm in a sling, and a cut on his forehead. "I had to give him a light sedative, Your Ladyship," the doctor told Cora as she sat on the edge of her husband's bed visibly shaken.

The doctor and the Lord exchanged amused glances as they watched Cora run her fingers through her husband's hair and stroked his cheek. Robert's eyes opened but he closed them again quickly before Cora noticed. The doctor and Lord Grantham both saw him, but didn't say anything. Far be it from them to intrude on the young man's fun. After all, boys will be boys. They had both done similar teasing things to their wives when they were young.

Robert groaned, pretending to be in pain. Cora leaned close and whispered that she would take care of him and promising to leave his side as little as possible. She looked at his sweet, handsome face and gently rested her cheek on his forehead. Just as she did so Robert opened his eyes again and found himself staring down the bodice of his wife's dress just as he had hoped. He quickly grabbed her and held her around the waist with his free arm while he nuzzled her breasts. Her shriek brought the two others in the room to Robert's bedside. He released his hold on his wife when he saw they were not as alone as he had first thought. "Hello, Papa, I … hadn't seen you there," Robert said with slurred speech.

"No, I imagine you didn't," Lord Richard said jokingly. "You seemed to have been focused on something else entirely." Cora blushed deeply but Robert just grinned.

Dr. Lenox took pity on the shy, embarrassed, young woman and asked the Earl to leave the room before he spoke to the couple about Robert's injury. He figured the poor girl needed as much privacy as she could get after the little scene they had just witnessed. He urged her to sit on the edge of the bed beside her husband for this talk. "The sedative is wearing off. When it's gone he'll be in some pain, but now he's …" Cora yelped and jumped up. Robert had pinched her bottom when she'd tried to sit down and he giggled like a schoolboy unaware of how uncomfortable he was making his wife. The doctor pulled a chair over for her and gave her a reassuring smile. "He's a little silly at the moment, as if he'd had a bit too much to drink. He doesn't mean anything by it. In truth, he may very well have no memory of any of this once he's back to normal."

Dr. Lenox sighed and shook his head as he noticed Robert's new amusement - his wife's dress. Cora felt her skirts move in an manner that felt unfamiliar. She reached back to straighten them only to realize her husband had lifted them up to her waist and was peeking underneath. Horrified, she tugged it back down and stepped a few feet away from the bed, giving him as fierce a glare as she could when she was still so worried about him. "You're no fun," Robert grumbled and pouted at her, "Pretty, but no fun at all."

She sat down in the chair the doctor offered her and listened as he started to explain her husband's injury and its consequences. All the while the injured and obviously well-medicated Robert continued to tease his wife. He eventually coaxed her into going back to his side and leaning down so he could whisper in her ear. "Apples," he said and tried to touch her breast. She had suspected he'd try something and batted his hand away with ease. He tried the trick again, but she ignored him and stayed focused on the doctor who tried his best to continue his clinical discussion with a straight face. "I just want to tell you that I think I'm in love with you, Cora." Robert called from the bed. Cora froze as so many emotions welled up inside her. "I love you," Robert sang out.

"Maybe we should continue this later when the Lord is more himself," Doctor Lenox suggested as he watched Cora try to keep herself from crying. "He may not know what he's saying," the doctor reminded her. She knew he was trying to be helpful, but his reminder only made it all hurt more. Robert had just said the words she spent her nights dreaming he'd say, but he'd said them when he was not in full control of himself. Did that mean his words were all lies, or a truth he could never admit? What if he did know what he was saying?

A single tear rolled down Cora's cheek. " I understand," she said softly. She turned to look back at Robert, hoping for a clue to the biggest question in her life at that point - how her husband felt about her. He waved at her and gave her a silly grin. Another tear dripped down her cheek.

"Don't cry, I love you," Robert said as he tried and failed to get out of his bed, still under the sedative's influence. "I honestly think I love you." Robert said as continued, unsuccessfully, to free himself from his bedding and go to her. Doctor Lenox tried to settle him down as Cora turned to go. Robert called her name but she ignored his pleas and left the room. He looked at the doctor in pharmaceutically-induced bewilderment. "What did I do now?" he yelled at the closed door


	11. The Tale of Two Beds

"Oh, this is absurd!" Cora heard Robert exclaim as she approached his dressing room. His sedative had warn off and, while he had his wits about him again, he was also in pain, hungry, and cranky. He had missed both luncheon and dinner and knew he that feeding himself would be a tricky business with only the use of his left hand, but that wasn't his biggest concern. "Do you mean I have to live alone for six weeks?"

"Not at all," Dr. Lenox replied. "You just can't share your wife's bed. No intercourse for six weeks and you should probably sleep apart for at least two weeks, if that isn't already your usual procedure, until I've examined you again to see how you're healing. "

Cora stopped in front of her husband's dressing room. She didn't think this was the time to go wandering in. As she stood waiting for the topic of conversation to change, she found herself paying closer and closer attention. She knew it was wrong to eavesdrop on her husband's private discussion with his physician, but her curiosity had gotten the better of her. Six weeks without the physical aspect of their marriage seemed not to sit well with him. After the night they'd shared a few evenings before, she thought it might be difficult for her to bear as well.

"How is exile suppose to promote my healing?" As Robert complained, Cora heard footsteps coming down the hall. She wasn't ready to enter the conversation so she quickly and quietly slipped into her dressing room and stayed silent as she crouched by the door that connected her room to her husband's. She heard Lord Richard enter his son's room and listened as the three men discussed Robert's new sleeping arrangements at length. " I can't sleep in here any more. I just lie awake. I don't know what it is about this bed, Father, but it's too cold no matter how many blankets I use. It isn't comfortable. Cora's bed is very comfortable." He paused and tried to keep thoughts of a nightgown-clad Cora out of his mind. "Warm. Soft. Inviting."

"Are you still referring to the bed, my boy, or the lady that shares it with you?" Richard asked with a smirk.

"Papa!" Robert grumbled and proceeded to go on about the sheer inadequacy of these solo sleeping arrangements until his father finally lost patience with him, which was a very rare occurrence indeed.

"Both mattresses are the same make, from the same company, and were both purchased at the same time just prior to your marriage," Richard rumbled as his voice got increasingly louder. "The only difference between the two is the lace edging on the linens for the bed next door and the fact that when you get into the one on the other side of this wall, Cora is there beside you. Have you given even a moment's thought to whether it's your wife's embrace and not just her bed you'll be missing? Maybe this hiatus will make you appreciate what you have in her."

"Now isn't the time for this, Papa," Robert said coldly as Dr. Lenox cleared his throat. Cora was stunned. She was too engrossed in what she was hearing to even feel guilty about eavesdropping any more. She waited breathlessly for the talk to resume.

"I'll leave you now," Richard said. "Keep what I said in mind. We'll continue our discussion later." Cora heard her husband's dressing room door open.

"Papa," Robert called, "if you see Cora, could you ask her to come up here? Tell her…" Cora held her breath. "Tell her I need her."

"You _need_ her, Robert?" Richard repeated in surprise.

"Yes, I actually might need her more than I first thought." Robert replied more to himself than anyone else as his thoughts became more focused on Cora and the nature of his need for her.

"I'm sure she'll be glad to hear that," Richard said.

"Wait, don't tell her that last part!" Robert called realizing what he'd said and what he'd very nearly said.

"Of course, my boy." Richard said. "You'll have to tell her that in your way."

Cora heard the door to her husband's dressing room close and her father-in-law's footsteps going down the hall. Her heart was soaring and she couldn't stop smiling. Tears of joy ran down her face as she sat on the floor by the door to her husband's dressing room. She gave herself a few minutes to bask in the glow of knowing she was something more to her husband than the fine print in a contract. She didn't know what she was to him, but he needed her now and, for the time being, that would do. She went to her dressing table to check her hair and put on a touch of perfume before she went downstairs to be "found" by her father-in-law.

* * *

><p>AN - It's about time Cora has something to smile about, isn't it?


	12. Fragile Happiness

"Your father said you needed me, Robert." Cora said smiling. She looked so happy and so beautiful that Robert had a hard time finding his words.

"What did I do to deserve someone like you?" he said beckoning her to sit beside him on the bed.

Cora's smile dimmed. "Why? Have I done something wrong? I'll try to make it better, whatever it is, I promise."

Robert was shocked by how fragile his wife's happiness was and how afraid she was of disappointing him. He wished he knew how to make her feel secure so that maybe her joys wouldn't be so fleeting. He'd asked his father but that was the one question the usually talkative Earl would not answer except to say that his son "knew the answer all ready, but was afraid of it." Robert didn't like where that statement was headed so he tried his best to put it out of mind. After all, wasn't it crueler for him to admit to having feelings for this sweet girl whose heart was both so affectionate and so vulnerable - feelings that he wasn't sure were even there - only to denounce them when or if he realized things hadn't been as they'd first appeared instead of just keeping quiet until these sentiments and the reasons for their existence were crystal clear and undeniable? Why string her along if she could end up heartbroken? Robert had decided it was better to wait and see. He had hurt Cora enough in the past six months, he couldn't bear the though of crushing her spirits by telling her he loved her one minute, and then yanking that love away from her the next.

Robert smiled reassuringly at his suddenly nervous wife. "Cora, you've done nothing but make me happy every moment you're near me." He patted the empty space in the bed next to him. "I promise I won't pinch you this time." He was pleased to see her smile return.

"You remember all that?" she asked tentatively. She wondered if he knew that he'd told her he loved her and, if he did, whether or not he'd tell her again now that he was back in sobriety's firm grasp.

"I remember a few bits of it. I'm sorry for mistreating you," Robert said, ashamed of pawing at her in front of the doctor and ashamed of enjoying those few memories as much as he did. "I don't remember why you left, but I'm sure it had something to do with my boorish behavior." So he didn't remember. Cora wasn't sure if she was disappointed or relieved. Robert saw the unhappiness in her eyes and it pained him. He was convinced he ranked as one of the worst husbands in the whole of the British Empire. He so wanted to make it up to her. He spoke to her softly in a tone he hoped sounded loving as she came closer. She sat on the bed and leaned back against the headboard. Robert tenderly stroked her cheek with the back of one finger. "You deserve so much better than that and I am very sorry. I simply wasn't able to control myself." he said with a teasing smile.

His last sentence caught her off guard. "Does it really require all that much self-restraint?" Cora asked jokingly.

"More than I care to admit." He said with a smile as he slowly slipped his arm around Cora's hips as she sat beside him on the bed. He found something very alluring in her sharp intake of breath and the way she looked at him as he let his hand brush against her bottom. He loved how little things like that would take her by surprise. He always thought his attempts at flirtation were bumbling at their very best, but they always seemed to earn him a shocked gasp followed by a blushing smile. He loved her blush. He loved so many things about her. Maybe his father was right after all. Maybe he should tell her how he felt?

There was a quick knock at the door and then Dr. Lenox entered just as Robert moved his arm back to his side to keep from embarrassing her in front of him again. The doctor explained, as much as propriety would allow, his recommendations about the couple's sleeping arrangements and why he felt the need to make them. As he continued on to his list of less intimate activities that Robert should avoid, Cora had all she could do to keep from giggling even though she'd heard most of it when she was listening at her door earlier. After talking in some level of detail about their bedroom habits, discussing the danger of re-injury due to "over exertion" and "strenuous activities" all sounded so naughty to her. A sideways glance at her slightly embarrassed, fidgeting husband indicated she wasn't alone in feeling the way she did and seeing him so unusually awkward emboldened her. Gently, she slipped her hand into his. "I'll take very good care of him, Doctor," she said as she looked lovingly down at him. She had six weeks before he would be able to disappear for the whole of the day and she would make sure she didn't allow him to feel as lonely as she had been almost every day since her arrival.

Robert smiled as he gazed into his wife's eyes. He was struck by the sincerity of her affection. They hadn't married for love and yet she seemed as devoted as any wife he could have ever hoped for. Anyone would say they'd tend to their injured spouse, but he sensed that Cora really meant to and he couldn't help but smile. There was so much he should've said and wanted to say, but he couldn't find the words. "Thank you, Cora," he said as he squeezed her hand, "you're so good to me."


	13. One and Only

Robert lay awake, staring and the darkened ceiling of his dressing room wondering how he could endure another week and four days stuck in that cold, uncomfortable bed by himself - not to mention the further month without being able to enjoy the full extent of his married life. It all felt like nothing short of torture. "Cora," he called out. "Cora, are you still awake?" He heard movement in the next room and the the door adjoining their rooms opened.

"What's the matter, Robert? Are you alright?" Cora asked softly as she came to his bedside. She looked angelic in the soft light of the candle she placed on the nightstand.

"I was just lonely," Robert admitted sheepishly. "I was missing you."

Cora smiled brightly. Since he'd been injured, Robert and Cora spent the majority of their time together and, when they had to leave each other, he actually seemed disappointed to see her go. Even during their courtship, he hadn't been as sweet and attentive as he had been in the past couple of days and, even thought she hated to see her husband hurting, Cora was loving all the attention he was paying her. "Oh Darling," she cooed as she leaned down to kiss him, "I miss you, too." She kissed his forehead, then his cheek, then his lips. "I miss your warm, strong arms around me at night," she whispered in his ear between kisses, "I miss you kisses."

Robert groaned as his body began to react to her actions. "Cora, please don't tease me. All I want to do is take you in my arms and see if we can top our last encounter, but I'm afraid I have a month of isolation left. Don't taunt me my l… my Lovely."

Cora smiled through her momentary disappointment. He'd taken to calling her "my Lovely" just in the past few days and it always got her hopes up that one day he might leave off that last pesky syllable. She knew it was foolish to hope for his love. Even so, she was now completely convinced that she was very much in love with him. Their marriage was meant to secure for each of them the kind of lifestyle they desired and love had not been a part of the deal. It hadn't even been considered and, up until a few days before she had all but given up on it. After all, it was possible that Robert already had someone else in his life that made him feel the same way she felt whenever he so much as said her name. Cora prayed that he didn't, but him having a mistress certainly wouldn't be unheard of, especially in a marriage like theirs. Just thinking about Robert - _her_ Robert - in the arms of another woman was enough to bring tears to her eyes. She nuzzled and kissed his neck. "Cora, what's the matter?" Robert asked sensing there was something more than flirtation in her kisses.

"I've just been thinking too much. It's nothing, really." Cora said trying to fake a smile.

"Cora, please tell me. It breaks my heart to see you unhappy." Robert said as he stroked his wife's cheek. He pulled back the covers and she got into bed with him.

"We shouldn't be doing this," she said. "The doctor said to wait two weeks." She was smiling in spite of herself.

Robert held her hand tightly. "I will risk a longer recovery time for a chance to make your life here happier. I want you to feel comfortable and secure. Please, Cora, tell me what's troubling you. I want to be the one you can turn to for comfort." A boyish smile crossed his lips. "Or is it just my body you're after?" he said theatrically raising the back of his free hand to his forehead and flopping backward onto the pillow. He winced at the impact, but the pain disappeared at the sound of Cora's laugh.

His wife kept giggling as she snuggled down next to him. The mask of aristocratic propriety her husband always wore was beginning to slip away more and more when they were alone. He would be silly and joke with her now. They were really starting to feel more at ease with each other in the privacy of their bedrooms at night than with everyone else and they were growing closer each day now that fate and a frightened horse had made Robert stay at the house and spend time with his wife. Cora didn't want to ruin their budding friendship, so with a heavy sigh she told him what was on her mind. Robert was a little surprised by her concern, but he was also very pleased that she wanted him all to herself and he couldn't find words to express how happy it made him. "I'm sorry," she started to apologize again "I know it isn't my place, but…" Robert cut her statement short with a passionate kiss.

"There isn't anyone else and there never will be. I could never do that to you. I care about you too much. You're my one and only, Cora." Robert smiled at his wife. He still wasn't ready to make a declaration of love but he hoped what he had said made her feel like she was loved and appreciated as much as she was. He was pleased to see his wife settle contentedly down next to him. He kissed her again to make sure she ended her day with a smile.

"I adore you, my darling husband." she said as she ran her fingers through his hair.

"One day I hope I can make you as happy as you make me. I know it might not seem like it, but I am trying." Robert said drowsily.

"I'll wait as long as it takes, Robert." Cora whispered.

* * *

><p>The sun shown brightly as a carriage pulled up to Downton Abbey and Dr. Lenox emerged. Lord Richard greeted him. "I know I wasn't expected here for quite a while, and I hope I'm not disturbing you, but I wondered if I might look in on Lord Robert for a moment.<p>

"Of course," Richard said, "I believe he's still in bed."

"That's fine," the doctor said, "and how is the Lord's young wife handling her husband's convalescence?"

The Earl smiled broadly. "She' s always at his side. He couldn't ask for a more attentive or concerned spouse."

"I'm glad she's so supportive," the doctor said.

They reached Robert's bedroom and his valet knocked lightly on the door before entering and drawing back the curtains. The morning sunlight washed over the mound of covers on the bed and it began to stir. "What the devil is going on?" Robert grumbled as he rubbed his eyes.

The doctor approached the bed. "I was in the neighborhood and thought I should check up on you. I had given you quite a list of activities to avoid and I wanted to see how you were adjusting to the changes in your routine, but I see you're doing far better than I'd expected."

"Yes, I have made the required adjustments and am now just waiting for this recovery to be complete," Robert said proudly. A soft, feminine sigh got the attention of everyone in the room. Robert looked sheepish as the doctor cleared his throat. "Well, maybe not every adjustment." He smiled down at his sleeping wife. "Two weeks is an eternity."


	14. Faithful Friends and Lovers

Watson finished dressing Robert in time for him to see the doctor off. "Dr. Lenox, I wanted to apologize for earlier and also thank you for letting Cora sleep. If we'd woke her, she would've been so embarrassed."

The doctor smiled. "I was young and newly married once, too, and two weeks away from my Adelaide would've felt like two lifetimes. I will come to check on you once every couple of days to make sure you're healing properly, but for now, you may sleep where you wish as long as you are mindful of that injured shoulder." He struck a stern tone with the grinning young man. "Just keep it to sleeping, at least for now. We'll see how long it takes for you to get the strength back in that joint before you can get out of that sling and start increasing your… ahem… activity level. I mean it, Your Lordship." The doctor got into the carriage and then turned back to Robert. "Give my regards to your charming bride."

"I will, Doctor, thank you." Robert said as the carriage began to move.

As he turned to go back in the house he saw his sister, Rosamund, riding her favorite horse, Obsidian. Whenever she was back at Downton, she loved to go for a morning ride and just enjoy the countryside. "Good morning, my naughty, naughty little brother. Disobeying Doctor's orders, are we?" she teased as she dismounted to walk and talk with Robert. "Who would have ever thought my little brother - the one who used to run and tell Mama every time I did anything even a little darling - would turn into such a rebel and be sneaking a woman into his bed?" She laughed as he rolled his eyes.

"Don't get hysterical, Rosamund," he said with an edge of exasperation in his voice. "I went to bed with my wife, and here you are ready to cast me as some sort of Casanova. Alas, dear sister, I fear that you are exaggerating again."

"Oh really? 'Two weeks is an eternity', is it?" she scoffed. "And you say I exaggerate!"

"How did you know about that?" Robert asked. "Papa didn't tell you, did he?"

"No," Rosamund smirked. "but he did tell Mama and telling Mama is like telling the world."

"I hope no one says anything about it to Cora," Robert said. He didn't want her to feel awkward. He had gotten everyone to leave his room before they woke her that morning and then he'd gotten up and been examined in a guest room so she could be spared waking up to find Dr. Lenox, Watson, and her father-in-law staring at her while she lay clinging to her husband.

"Why? Afraid she'll be so andy with you that she might never sleep with you again?" his sister laughed.

"I was actually concerned for her feelings, but I suppose there is also that to bear in mind." he said indignantly.

"Well, you can put your thoughts, and whatever else, at ease. No one is going to antagonize your Cora." Rosamund said with a rare tone of sincerity. "We're all just pleased you're getting along and spending time alone together. For a while it looked like each of you inhabited your own separate universe the way you avoided each other." She looked at Robert and smiled. "We're all glad you and Cora are sorting things out - even Mama."

"Shouldn't there be a celestial choir heralding a miracle of this magnitude?" he said with a huff.

Rosamund shook her head. "Mama doesn't dislike her that much." Robert's expression spoke volumes about how much he disagreed and his sister thought it best to change the subject. "You'll never guess who I saw on my ride. Lord Anderson Wrenquist. He's going to come and stay with us to keep you company." Robert's reaction surprised her. "Oh come, come now, you should be happy to have such a devoted friend who's concerned for you well being."

"I know, but I have company. I don't like wasting my friends' time." Robert said coolly. "Where's that wife of his?"

"Visiting her relatives at one of the estates on the other side of Ripon." Rosamund said with a tone of disbelief.

"Well, at least that's something." he said with a sigh as he and his sister walked back to the house to get ready for Anderson's arrival.

That afternoon, as Robert stood outside watching the carriage approach, he was lost in thought. He knew Rosamund was right. He should've been pleased his old friend was coming to help him, but he couldn't shake the feeling that he preferred to be tended to by his wife. He hadn't expected to take such delight in spending so much time with her doing menial things. Just sitting beside her and watching her as she read to him had become such a treat. He didn't know how he'd handle going back to spending his days without her and he wasn't entirely sure he wanted to.

And then there was Anderson - incredibly handsome and, if the gossip was to be believed, unhappily married Anderson. Robert wasn't all that anxious to have him hanging around while his wife was away, with Robert injured and stuck looking very un-dashing with his arm in a sling, and his lovely Cora held to him by a sense of attachment that was still so fragile. He was also remembered about how, during their days in school, Anderson was always quite a hit with the ladies whereas Robert himself had never had much luck in that department. Cora's beauty would garner her the attention it always did, as would the unspoken knowledge that this pretty and intelligent girl hadn't married for love and might be more receptive to the idea of a little extra-marital romance. He'd done his best to dismiss these notions of course. Anderson was married now. That had to have dulled his search for attractive ladies at least slightly and Cora seemed to be nothing but faithful and devoted. Even so, the jealousy crept back despite all his efforts and when Anderson kissed Cora's hand when they were introduced, Robert felt his jaw tense.


	15. The Weight of Looks and Words

Cora could feel Anderson staring at her as she joined her mother-in-law and sister-in-law in the drawing room. It was a gaze that felt as if it were removing her clothing piece by piece and Cora felt very exposed even though she was fully dressed. She felt her body warm as a blush stained her cheeks. As the door closed behind them, Cora found she was actually happy to be in a room with Lady Grantham. Anything was better than being leered at like that. The Countess noticed her daughter-in-law's sigh of relief. She did not like the way this visit from Anderson was starting out either. "Well," she sniffed, " perhaps I'm old fashioned, but I don't recall when mentally stripping off the clothing of you best friend's new wife as soon as you meet her became appropriate behavior for our kind of people." She softened her expression even managed a tiny smile as she motioned for Cora to sit beside her. Cora sat next to her mother-in-law, grateful for her protection, even though she was sure it was only offered to keep scandal away from Downton.

Robert gritted his teeth as Anderson finally turned back to him with a sly grin on his face. "What a charming girl. You've outdone yourself there, Robert." Anderson said ignoring his friend's scowl and walking with him to the library. He was tall and athletic with brown hair that was always attractively tousled and piercing dark eyes.

"If you think she's charming now, just wait until she actually has a conversation with you." Robert grumbled.

Anderson refused to acknowledge Robert's barely concealed anger. "I have to admit that when I'd heard you went off to America to marry an heiress, I had been expecting a plain, chubby-but-amiable bookworm to be the next Lady Grantham . You never had any real skill with women, but the plump, funny ones always seemed to like you. Now I arrive and discover you've come back from your little spousal safari in the New World with the belle of the ball," The tall, stylish, devilishly good looking man flopped himself down into and armchair facing his injured friend. "So out with it then. What's wrong with her?" he said with a smile.

"Nothing," Robert snapped. "Why should there be?"

Anderson had had enough of Robert's pouting and posturing. He couldn't understand why he was taking a little staring so seriously. After all, what was the use of him getting possessive over a wife he didn't love. He got up and stood nearly nose to nose with Robert as his temper flared. "Because a woman like that shouldn't need to marry a fortune hunter and no one marries and American heiress because they just happened to fall madly in love while on holiday one season! Everyone knows it was a marriage of convince, Robert, so don't insult my intelligence or anyone else's by pretending it wasn't! I know better and Claude, Geoffrey, and Alistair do too." They stayed staring each other down and then Anderson took a deep breath and calmly returned to his chair. He sat back down and his eyes met Robert's cold glare. "If what you say is true and she has brains to match that figure of hers, then she should have been able to marry a lover, not a title, and have a little passion in her life. There must be a reason why she didn't."

Robert's face was red with fury. "Speaking of passion, how's your Lady Veronica? It's a pity you didn't bring her."

Anderson chuckled, "Robert, you always were a terrible liar. Everyone knows you detest Veronica. She's at her parent's home on the other side of Ripon. She's expecting our second baby and there have been some complications. We thought she'd be more comfortable there with her family nearby. I was coming to see you on my way there so I'll only be here a few days. Since I assume you'll have to postpone the big hunt now that you're injured, she'll probably be able to come along and join the ladies in whatever it is that they get up to when we're off galloping about in the woods. She should be ready for a break from the baby by then and, if she misses the children too much, they'll be staying with her parents, so she can visit them there if she wants to." He got up and smiled at his still pouting friend. "I have to confess, my other reason for stopping by was that I couldn't resist being the first of our old crew to meet the woman who has captivated you... in one way or another." He patted Robert on the back. "I'm glad you finally found someone. She is truly a beauty." Robert seethed as he clinched his fist behind his back and wondered how long it would be before his old friend would be going.

"She's more than just 'a beauty', she's my wife," Robert growled icily. The dressing gong rang and the footman who had been assigned to look after Anderson appeared in the doorway to escort him to his room. As the door closed Robert realized that he wasn't done fighting for Cora. Since everyone seemed aware of the reason for their marriage - no doubt thanks to his mother's gossiping - the assumption was that there was no love or sense of attachment between them. He would have to fend off the advances of people whom he was close to - friends and such - who would look at Cora as still very much available. They wouldn't behave like suitors either. Suitors were generally respectful. They would treat Cora like some tart because that's what they saw her as - someone who sold herself into the peerage for a title - even though it had been him who had been looking for money. The mere thought of it made his blood boil.

Another thought hit Robert hard. Before putting forth a valiant effort to keep "his Cora" all to himself, he needed to be sure that she wanted to be only his. As much as it pained him to admit it, cooing "I love you," in her sleep and saying something unsure about it once, months earlier, when he was too embarrassed by his body to cuddle with her did not amount to much of a claim to her heart at all. Robert went up the stairs and slumped down on his bed as he tried to figure out how to get Cora to tell him she loved him while she was awake.


	16. Of Women and Rumors

To Light a Fire

Cora had slept poorly. She'd been replaying her evening's interactions with Robert's friend over and over in her mind trying to figure out what about him made her so uncomfortable. None of his words were inappropriate, yet something about their conversation felt as if he were trying to get her to go to bed with him. He'd brushed against her as he passed by her when he was going upstairs and, while it looked accidental, she couldn't help but feel that it wasn't. She didn't know why, but no matter how she tried to like Lord Anderson Wrenquist, she couldn't look at him without thinking of the phrase 'wolf in sheep's clothing'. Those thoughts had been bouncing around her head all night and morning had found Cora exhausted. She had gotten up and tried to keep to her usual routine but, as she reclined in the sun of the unseasonably warm afternoon and read her book, sleep overcame her at last.

That was how Anderson Wrenquist came upon her as he strolled around the grounds. He had hoped to get a chance to be alone with her but this seemed to good to be true. He let his gaze slowly wander over her as she lay there sleeping and pondered what she might look like without all those clothes on. She squirmed under the weight of his stare and changed her position slightly. A devious idea crossed his mind. Why not see how much fun he could have with this sleeping girl? Maybe it could lead to a little more fun for both of them if she enjoyed it. If she didn't like it, he was sure nothing bad would come of his actions. He had known the Granthams for long enough to be sure that Robert's mother would detest any American heiress on principle alone no matter who she was married to. Robert was practically made of loyalty and Anderson wagered that, if it were his word against hers, Robert would side with an old friend over this new "business partner", of a sort, from a couple thousand miles away. Without Lady Grantham's support and Robert's trust, the girl's accusations would certainly be silenced if she had the nerve to make them at all.

He knelt beside her and trailed one finger lightly down from the side of her neck across her collarbone. His other hand began to slowly search for the hem of her dress. "Oh Robert," Cora murmured softly and moved again, slightly parting her legs as she did so. Anderson froze for a moment. Even though she'd just involuntarily made his plan a lot easier to accomplish by moving her legs - an action he would have normally taken as an invitation to continue - something nagged at him. What if Robert's insistence that there was some sort of connection between him and this dozing title-purchaser was more than just his friend posturing to protect his ego? What if, against all the odds, they had managed to form a meaningful bond or were at the very least trying to. He stood and brushed a stray curl from Cora's face. He thought of his own wife, Veronica, and all he'd put her through during the two and a half years they'd known each other. She was at her parents' home pregnant and sick and he had found excuse after excuse to delay going to her side because he couldn't face her after all he'd done. He loved her very much, but no one would ever have guessed if they were basing their conclusions on his behavior. He finally looked up from the blissfully sleeping Cora and saw Lady Grantham walking toward him. As usual, her face didn't betray a hint of emotion, but there was fury in her eyes.

Violet walked slowly and with purpose. Like a tiger stalking her prey, she would strike in her own good time. "Anderson," she said coldly "stop hovering like a specter over my son's new wife and walk with me. I have some things to discuss with you." He knew she would take him apart but he had no way to refuse and he went willingly to take whatever punishment he had coming to him. "Your father, Lord Ascot Wrenquist, was one of the finest, most ethical, upstanding people whom I have ever had the pleasure of knowing." Anderson lowered his head like a guilty child. Violet went on without a change in tone or a hint of remorse. "It's a shame you don't seem to have inherited his sense of decency. You have behaved appallingly from the moment you arrived regarding your interactions with Cora. I would have never expected this from you. You would attempt to seduce the wife of your closest friend right in front of him, before they've even been married a year, before they've had a child, and all while you claim to be here to help him recover? What has happened to you, Anderson? The boy who used to play with my son and go off riding with him would never mistreat his friend in this manner." He tried to speak in his own defense, but she silenced him with a wave of her hand. "He would never treat a lady so poorly either. And speaking of ladies, what of Veronica? It seems you always did like forbidden fruit. The Ruperts had her marriage set up for the better part of a decade. That all went away because she fell for you and, nearly in the blink of an eye, you were married quite suddenly in the beginning of July. Then, darling, little Alfred arrived a few days before the New Year." If Anderson had doubted Lady Grantham's implications, the look she gave him would've dissolved it instantly.

"The baby was early," he said trying to regain his usual poise. He failed.

"Don't try to tell a mother about having children," Violet snipped, "He may have been early, but he could not have been that early and still survived." Anderson went quiet and Violet continued. "So, now it's October and Veronica's expecting again." Violet looked sideways at the young man. "Congratulations." she said.

Anderson felt like it was a setup to something, but thanked her anyway. He figured this was not the time to ignore manners. "The baby should come around the end of November," he added not knowing what else to say.

"Ah, that soon. That makes your current situation all the more puzzling. All those rumors flying about since springtime." Anderson went pale. Violet smiled back at him. She was glad he knew where all this was going. It served to confirm her suspicions. "I can't figure out for the life of me where she'd have found the time for it all. The son of that old duke, the russian ballet dancer, the French army officer…" Lady Grantham set a withering gaze on him. "None of those actually happened, of course. There was a scandalous tryst with the daughter of the Spanish Ambassador - the one who was supposed to marry the son of that general - " Anderson turn away from Violet ashamed, but she kept talking, ", but that wasn't Veronica, it was you. I know because Rosamund lives down the street from the Ambassador's residence and saw him chasing you down the street one morning. You were half dressed, if I remember correctly. So it seems you've been concocting anonymous rumors about your wife and counting on the few details you include to make them sound credible enough to drown out accounts of your infidelities. I'm just curious, does Veronica know that the one waging a crusade against her respectable reputation is also the father of her children, or are you saving that revelation until the next little one is on the way?" Anderson looked broken. Violet's demeanor warmed ever so slightly. "And now your poor Veronica, struggling with both complications with her condition and a scandal destroying her place in polite society, has fallen ill and here you are, miles away and trying to bed the wife my son adores."

The two stood in silence, looking back at the house. Cora was still sleeping in her chaise lounge as Robert approached her. They watched him kneel beside her and stroke her cheek to wake her. Robert played with one of his wife's curls and she smiled at him. She took his free hand in both of hers and held it to her chest. He blushed. He kissed her forehead and her cheek. She sat up expectantly. He captured her lips in a passionate kiss and Cora moved over so he could sit beside her.

Violet turned away from the young couple and cleared her throat. "So you see now that it's more than merely a title and money between them." Violet turned to Anderson. "I'm not as good at giving these kinds of talks as my husband is, but if he had seen you with Cora earlier…" Violet's comment trailed off but Anderson knew the general direction it was headed in. "Everything has its consequences and running from them does little good. Often it makes things far worse. If I were you, I would be thinking about going to see Veronica. Start to put things back together and await your new arrival together. After that, if you need to, the two of you can surely reach an ... an understanding ... about fidelity and other concerns of that nature. As for those rumors tarnishing your wife's reputation, I can help you handle those provided you stay away from Cora. If you do that, those lies will be out of circulation in London by the time you're ready to return home after the baby comes."

"Yes, Lady Grantham," Anderson said with a small smile, "thank you."

She smiled back. "You're a good boy, Anderson. You've made some very poor choices and have a lot of work to do to make things right, but you might still be a good boy at heart." Violet gestured in the direction of the house. Robert and Cora were still kissing. "Shall we go and interrupt the lovebirds before the whole of the countryside is in need of smelling salts?


	17. Changing Seasons

Richard stood in the doorway to his dressing room and stroked his beard as he watched Violet put lotion on her hands before bed. "I'm glad the house is back in order again. Did you ever think a visit from that Wrenquist boy would unsettle Robert so much? He was on the defensive from the time he caught sight of the carriage." The Earl of Grantham smiled. "Fending off a challenge for the affections of his fair lady." He sat in a chair and watched as his wife pretended not to hear him. "And then there was you - protective mother-in-law and fearsome champion of morality and virtue." Richard chuckled.

"I have no idea what you're talking about," Violet said as she stood and organized the bottles on her dressing table. "I was merely protecting my son's happiness and the reputation of the estate. Infidelity is one thing, particularly concerning this peculiar union Robert has made for himself, but these things have to be done the proper way - with a certain level of discretion and understanding. Not by a young man pushing in when a friend is hurt and practically forcing himself on his friend's wife who isn't in the least bit interested in anyone's attentions save those of her husband. And that isn't even taking into account the scandal that cloaks that family at the moment." Violet looked at her husband with an openness and honesty she rarely shared with anyone. "Cora was afraid of him, Richard. You could see it in her eyes and the way she clung to Robert. Regardless of how I feel about my son's marriage, that girl is a part of this family now and she should not be made to feel frightened in her own home." Violet sighed as she turned and walked to the bed before untying her dressing gown and letting it slip down off her body in the same way she had for the past thirty two years. It had been a secret pleasure of her husband's to watch her do it for thirty two years and it had never lost its seductive allure for him.

Richard sat there admiring his wife as she got into bed before he made the suggestion he'd been formulating since he'd caught a glimpse of Robert stealing a quick kiss from Cora as they came inside after seeing Anderson off. "Violet, I have a question for you,"

"I have a question for you as well, but you can go first." Violet said with a hint of a smile on her lips as she laid in bed waiting for him.

"I will have to go to London in a few weeks. I was wondering if you and I might go together and let Robert look after things here?" Richard asked. "I think the experience would be good for him and we could spend some time alone." He got up to join Violet in bed. "I always enjoy these moments when it's just the two of us." He got under the covers and wrapped his arms around his wife.

She smirked at him. "This wouldn't happen to coincide with when the doctor might let Robert go without that sling, does it?" Her husband's smile said it all. "You old romantic fool!" she laughed. "You aren't concerned about us having any time alone. You want those two down the hall to have the house to themselves once Robert is back to health so they won't be interrupted by the two old people puttering about the place. I see." She laughed again and kissed Richard sweetly.

The sudden howl of the autumn wind startled them both. Violet nestled further into her husband's embrace. Richard kissed his wife's forehead. "The seasons are changing at Downton, my dear, whether we like it or not. We have to prepare for it," he sighed and hugged Violet close. That statement held in it many truths. Truths about the estate, about their marriage, their family, and life in general. Violet couldn't figure out if he had been trying to deliver as profound a comment as he had, but she was struck again, as she so often was, by the way her husband's mind worked and how brilliant she thought he was.

They lay there just holding each other for what seemed like ages listening to the wind blow outside, watching the candlelight as it flickered on the wall, and enjoying being in each other's arms. Richard kissed Violet on the head and she looked up at him. "What was the question you wanted to ask me earlier?" he said.

Violet looked confused. "What question, dear?"

"Before I asked about going to London you said you wanted to ask me something, but that I could go first," he said. Violet smiled as she watched the boyish curiosity that had attracted her to him so many years before dance in his eyes.

"I wanted to know why you never get into bed before me." She ran her fingers through his hair. "You always sit in that chair and wait for me to lie down before you'll come and join me. You've always done it and I've always wondered about it."

Richard grinned. He let his hands wander over her back. "Because I like to watch you take off your dressing gown." he whispered as he carefully reached one of his hands down, placed it firmly on Violet's bottom, and squeezed gently. She cried out with a small, surprised yelp and then gave him a look of feigned disapproval.

"I think you just don't want to get into a cold bed." She smiled playfully and tapped his nose gently with one finger as he continued to palm her bottom before he pulled up the back of her nightgown just enough so he could slip his hands underneath it. "You sit there and wait until I've warmed it up for you," she said blushing as she untied the drawstring of Richard's pajamas.

"Nonsense. There are much better and far more enjoyable ways to warm up a bed." he said. "I'll show you a few if you're up for it."

After they'd finished 'warming up the bed', Violet lay awake snuggling her sleeping husband. The seasons were changing at Downton and she had to adapt. It had never been something she was either particularly good at or fond of, but it had to be done. 'That colonial interloper' was obviously not the kind of girl she had wanted for her only son, but she was the one he had chosen and Violet had to admit that everything she had seen in the last several months - even those rare glimpses of Cora's temper - indicated that he might not have made all that bad a choice. There was something there between them - not a fiery passion that consumed them, but a slowly smoldering ember that persisted on almost in spite of them. If Cora could make Robert happy, then Violet would have to at least get used to having her around.

"Is something the matter, my sweetheart?" Richard asked as he opened his eyes drowsily.

"No," she sighed and kissed him softly, "I was just thinking about our changing seasons and what I might need on our trip to London." Richard smiled as Violet kissed him again. "I love you, Richard." She said settling down to sleep.

"The sweetest words I could ever hope to hear." He touched her cheek and smiled down at her. "I love you too, Violet." They drifted to sleep together holding each other close, not in the fading afterglow of passion, but in the secure and stable embrace of a love that was decades old.

* * *

><p>AN This was originally intend to be a portion of another chapter, but it kept growing. Since this does not seem to be a fluff-averse audience I left it as the stand alone chapter it became. One more fluffy scene in a bedroom and then we can get back to the story, I promise.


	18. Kisses

The wind continued to howl and Cora shivered. Robert shook his head and chuckled. "Aren't you being a little theatrical?"

Cora pouted. "Your country is so cold," she said and wrapped her dressing gown tighter around her as the wind picked up again.

"Oh come now, you can't feel that wind in here," Robert said as she shivered again. He popped another chocolate in his mouth.

"Have you eaten _all_ of those chocolates?" Cora asked surprised. "Robert, you shouldn't eat that much candy before bed."

She paced around her husband's dressing room as he sat on his bed eating chocolate because she wouldn't let him eat chocolate in her room. She didn't want him to get chocolate in her bed and all over her things. "I was hoping it would give me sweet dreams," he said with a teasing smile. He looked in the bag of chocolates and scowled like a little boy when he saw how few were left. Out of the corner of his eye, he noticed Cora shivering again as she took another impatient lap around the room. "Go to bed if your cold. You needn't be uncomfortable on my account." he grumbled at her. He saw her shoulders slump ever so slightly and knew he'd said the wrong thing and been too harsh with her. He motioned for her to sit beside him. "Come here, Cora." She did as he asked and he took her hand in his. "I didn't mean to imply that I don't want you to stay with me, just that I'm more concerned about your comfort." He gave her a sly grin. "What will I do if I get this sling off only to find you sick in bed?"

"Be happy that I'm already there and start trying to undress me." she said matter of factly.

"You know you're so much more to me than that," he said. He lifted her chin and looked into her eyes and she smiled at him. He had everything he could do not to pin her down and kiss her breathless. He gently stroked her cheek. "I adore spending my days with you."

Her smile brightened. "Oh Robert," she said, "that makes me so happy." The autumn winds continued to blow, but for Cora and Robert the room seemed to have gotten pleasantly warmer as they continued to cuddle.

Robert handed Cora a chocolate, but she proceeded to feed it to him instead of eating it herself. "Ok, my turn," he said. "Close your eyes." She did as he asked and opened her mouth a little bit in anticipation of her husband feeding her a sweet. Looking at her sitting there like that Robert found it impossible to ignore just how badly he wanted to lie her down and make love to her until the sun rose. He silently cursed the injury that kept his ideas from being made a reality. He took a piece of chocolate and put it in his mouth and then kissed his wife deeply. He felt her body tense and her muffled yip of surprise against his lips, but he especially enjoyed feeling her relax into the chocolatey kiss he gave her. When he pulled back, she didn't seem to want it to end. She leaned forward and kept it going as long as she could.

Her breathing was heavy and her lips were fuller and redder due to the intensity of his kiss. "Oh Robert," she gasped. As she gazed lovingly into his eyes, she noticed that there was something distant in his expression. "What is it?" she asked cautiously.

He smiled and cupped her cheek. "I was thinking about our first kiss," he said with his desire for her evident in his voice. "It was the best part of my trip to America."

_Two months in the America had been all Robert could bear. He had grown exhausted of the country and dreamed of England. He was tired of Hortense Talbot chasing him around parties like some rodeo heifer. He was tired of the flashiness of American society and the gaucheness of "new money" and its obsession with ludicrous excesses. He was tired of suffering through what passed for tea in that country everywhere he went because he and his father were usually the token Englishmen at whatever gathering they attended and all these Americans seemed to readily associate with the English was a love of tea. His weeks of begging to go home had finally won over his father in mid-June, but by that time something else had happened. He had met Cora and there was something about her that made him loathe to let her simply pass out of his life so soon after she'd wandered into it. Still, the passages had been booked and he couldn't very well have asked his father to cancel them at that point._

_That warm evening in Newport he'd had his eye on Cora all evening. No one could hold his attention for very long before his gaze would wander and then settle upon her wherever she happened to be. When he'd seen her slip away from the party and step onto the porch, Robert made his way across the room to join her. He'd wanted to tell her that he was returning home personally rather than letting her find out on her own through gossip. He hadn't been sure why he felt such a strong desire to say goodbye in person. They hadn't had more than a few short conversations, but they had been enjoyable ones. He had never even gotten to dance with her because he'd never asked her early enough in the evening, yet he had thought telling her was something he needed to do. That he would regret it for some reason if he didn't._

_He'd found her alone on the porch staring out at the sea and lost in though and he'd quietly walked over to her. He had always found her very pretty, but that evening she was nothing short of breathtaking as she leaned on the railing and watched the sunset. He'd made his way to her side without her noticing and, when he said her name, it had startled her and she'd whirled round to face him. Her eyes had met his just as he was about to speak and in and instant he'd been struck speechless. He loved the English language - the language of William Shakespeare, John Keats, his family, home, and country - yet as he'd stood there that evening looking into Cora Levinson's blue eyes, he'd suddenly failed to remember a single word of it. He didn't know why it had happened and he'd found it very irritating. The only thing that had kept him from marching back inside an forgetting the whole thing was the feeling that walking off like that would hurt this young woman's feelings and he'd had no desire to do that. "Shall we go for a walk?" he'd finally managed to say._

_She'd smiled warmly at him. "I'd be delighted," she said softly as she looped her arm through his. He had felt her looking at him as they'd walked and his face felt hot in spite of the cool ocean breeze. They'd stood together on the lawn and looked out over the water and watched the sun finish its descent below the horizon. Robert had been very pleased of himself when he saw how delighted Cora was with the beautiful scene. "Oh Robert," she'd said with a soft gasp that had instantly filled Robert's mind with very unexpected and rather naughty thoughts, "it's beautiful. I'm so glad we didn't miss our chance to enjoy it." She'd looked up at him with a hint of expectation that had juxtaposed quite awkwardly with the thoughts of her - of her with him, to be precise - that were going through his head at the time_.

_After he'd shaken off the improper ideas that had flashed into his mind, Robert came to the realization that he'd botched things up again. Cora had obviously been expecting some sort of sweet moment together and he was about to tell her he was leaving the country. He'd looked down at her and he could already begin to feel the guilt welling up in him. She may have been at the party for the same reason he was - to find a socially and financially acceptable partner - but the experience for her was much different. For him, the whole thing had been merely a series of social calls and parties to be spent in the company of lovely young ladies - something his friend Anderson had termed "Robert's Great Spousal Safari". For Cora, this was a highly competitive hybrid of a beauty pageant and courtship in which her very future hinged upon attracting someone whom she and her family deemed suitable. By taking her to this quiet spot where they could watch the sunset and talk in relative privacy, he'd built her hopes up and he was now about to dash them._

_"Cora," he'd said with a sigh. She'd moved closer to him - daringly close - and he'd felt so sorry for her as he continued. "I'm going back to England. Papa has booked our passage. We will be leaving Newport at the end of the week for New York and then go on home." Robert had watched Cora's expression of reserved joy melt as she'd tried to maintain her calm and poise with only limited success. He had heard that American girls had a hard time hiding their feelings and it seemed that that rumor was being proven correct before his eyes. He'd suddenly found himself longing to take her in his arms and hold her to keep her from looking so lonely and e'd wished he'd kept his mouth shut all those weeks ago._

_He'd taken ahold of her hand instead as she struggled not to look humiliated and she'd seemed confused by the gesture. "I … I will be so sorry to see you leave. I've enjoyed our little conversations immensely." She'd said and had taken one more look into his gentle, blue eyes. Suddenly, and without really knowing why, Robert had leaned down and quickly kissed Cora on the lips. They'd each been wide-eyed with shock when they pulled apart. Robert hadn't known what to expect from Cora. He'd figured there was just as much of a chance of her slapping him as there was of her smiling at him when he felt her take a hold of his sleeve and saw her looking up at him bewildered. In that moment something became clear to him. If he had to marry for money rather than love, why shouldn't it be someone he liked to talk to and be around? Someone whose looks were only matched by her wit, charm, and intelligence? Someone he felt an unusual sort of undefinable attachment to even though he barely knew her? Someone whom he'd just discovered he rather enjoyed kissing? Why not settle on pursuing Cora? He'd kissed her again and when his lips met hers that time, he knew exactly what he was trying to do. He'd kissed her longer and deeper than before and she'd been breathing heavier when he'd finished. "Oh Robert," she'd gasped. A soft "Why?" had been all the words she could muster as she'd searched his expression for answers that aristocratic, English expressions do not reveal._

_Robert had then taken both of her hands in his and held them tightly. "Come to England, Cora. Finish the season there. Nothing would please me more than showing you my country and my home." If he had taken even a moment to think it through, he would have never extended the invitation. He'd never have had the chance. First he would've had to discuss it with his father. Then he would've had to write to his mother and she would've flatly refused for a number of reasons. He and his father then would've had to write home a few more times to get her to consent and by that time Cora would've probably been engaged to someone else. Robert was never what anyone would call a bold man, but he had been bold when it counted, and it had played a significant part in his winning his lovely wife's heart._

"That was one of the happiest days of my life, Robert," Cora said. "I felt like I was floating on air for weeks afterward." They both went into her bedroom to sleep. Watson was always uncomfortable about waking Robert when Cora was in bed with him and Cora seemed more at ease in her own room.

As the two got into bed, Robert tried to get himself comfortable while being careful to avoid aggravating his sore shoulder. "It's too bad Mama made sure to keep you very much earthbound once you arrived here."

Cora looked at her husband lovingly. "I was never under any illusions about what I was getting into Robert, and you have always made my place in your life very clear." She shivered again at the sound of the wind and Robert kissed her forehead and held her as close as he could. He didn't think he'd been doing a very good job at all and he was almost certain that she had no idea what the true nature of his feelings for her were. Still, she sought refuge from the storm outside by nestling in close to him. He hoped he would find the strength to to tell her all that she meant to him one day.


	19. By the Lake

The flood of activity that accompanied Lord and Lady Grantham's departure for their stay in London was made all the more exciting for Robert by the possibility of Dr. Lennox freeing him from the sling he'd been wearing for the past five weeks. He longed to be able to write a letter, hold a book, and eat without ending the meal resembling a toddler just learning to feed himself. With any luck, he would be able to wave goodbye to his parents with his right arm and spend his days in charge of Downton doing whatever he pleased just as he had before he'd had his run in with that ill-tempered horse in the village. As he looked out the window and watched the doctor's carriage approaching through the grey, cold, November morning, Robert could scarcely wait to have his independence restored.

He heard movement from the bed behind him and turned to see Cora sitting up watching him and looking ever so slightly crestfallen. He went to her and leaned down to kiss her on the head. "I'm about to be a free and able-bodied man, my dear, and it can't come soon enough." He stroked her cheek and smiled at her. "Cheer up, my angel, we'll soon have our lives back to normal." The only thing that kept her from crying was the fear of ruining Robert's good mood. She smiled weakly as he went on about all the things he had planned for himself that day. She tried but simply couldn't share all of his happiness. She was overjoyed that he was well again, but she'd gotten used to having him there with her during the day and they had grown so much closer because of it. She had been hoping they could try to build upon that. Instead, his delight over the return of his independence seemed to her to signal her return to solitude and it would be all the more painful now that she'd had a taste of the companionship and affection she'd been longing for since she'd arrived at Downton Abbey nearly seven and a half months before. He kissed her again and then went into his dressing room to await the doctor. Cora sighed as the door closed. She was missing him already.

Robert beamed as his valet helped him into his waistcoat. "Now I don't recommend any strenuous athletics and I would suggest not riding for a few more weeks, but I think it's safe to let you go without that sling a week ahead of schedule considering your lifestyle," the doctor chuckled at the young lord's excitement.

"Thank you, Doctor." Robert said. "Am I correct in assuming that all activities can be resumed with the exception of athletics and riding?" he asked trying to sound as if he were concerned with more than just his sex life.

Doctor Lennox laughed. "Yes, everything else is acceptable, provided you're mindful of that shoulder. I'll come back to check on you in a couple weeks." Robert walked the doctor to his waiting carriage and they talked about Robert's continued recovery before the doctor made a comment that took him completely by surprise. "I hope your wife takes your shortened convalescence in stride."

"Of course she will," Robert said as he bristled slightly at the doctor commenting on his personal life. "Why wouldn't she?"

Dr. Lennox passed his hand over his greying black mustache as he tried to choose his word carefully. Even though Robert still seemed to him to be that little boy who tailed after his father on morning walks trying to imitate the Lord's every move, he was now a grown man, a future earl, and should be spoken to in a manner befitting his station. "Forgive me, I feel I've spoken out of turn." He walked toward his carriage when Robert rushed after him.

"Please, Doctor, tell me what you meant." Robert asked. He figured the thoughts of a man married for nearly forty years might be helpful to him.

The doctor turned an smiled. "She's been by your side for five weeks almost without interruption. It would make sense that she may feel lonesome now that you will be off on your own again. None of the plans you mentioned on our way down the stairs involved her, as I recall. She could very well be be feeling a little left out." As Robert tried to formulate an answer of some kind, he felt someone watching him. He looked up at the rows of windows expecting to see his mother peering out of one of them, but instead he saw his wife staring out her bedroom window looking melancholy. She saw him watching her. He waved a little and she managed a slight smile. Robert said his goodbyes to the doctor and tried to forget Cora unhappy expression as he set off to enjoy a little freedom before his parents left. It was over almost as soon as it began, though, when his father came to join him, presumably with some last minute instructions and no doubt some silly insinuations about his upcoming week alone with Cora.

"I figured you'd be out here," Lord Richard said, "though it would've been nice to see Cora with you. You aren't going to forget about her now that you've recovered, are you? You'd better not after the way she took care of you. Such a sweet devoted girl."

Robert shook his head and rolled his eyes. "Papa, please," he said, "She's probably glad to be rid of me after five weeks. I doubt she wants to go wandering about with me on this cold morning when she could be curled up in her nice warm bed."

"Actually, I wouldn't mind going with you, if I were sure you wanted my company," a soft voice answered. Robert turned to find Cora looking absolutely stunning and holding a package for him. "Here. I had this sent up for you to celebrate your return to health." She blushed when his hand brushed over hers, caressing her, as he took his gift - a package of his favorite chocolate.

Robert smiled as he remembered how they'd finished the last package of chocolate she'd gotten him. He wondered if this was a far less innocent gift than it seemed. "Thank you, Cora. That was very kind," he said as he took her hand and pulled her closer. He looked into her eyes and his gently rubbed the back of her hand with his thumb. Her cheeks grew rosy. "I'd love to share them with you later," he said in a tone of voice that made a tingle run through Cora's body. Lord Richard gave a cough and to two remembered they were not yet alone. "Would you like to come on a walk with us? You don't have if you don't want to, but… "

Cora smiled. "I'd love to, Robert," she said. As the three walked, Robert managed to take Cora's hand in his. They strolled around the grounds talking for a while before Lord Richard abruptly took his leave of them.

The two looked around. Cora was smiling and Robert rolled his eyes. "Papa is incorrigible, old coot," he huffed.

"I think it's sweet," she said turning to face her husband.

"It's not exactly subtle, is it - " Robert asked, "bringing us to where I proposed and then disappearing as quickly as possible?"

Cora giggled. "Just like he did that afternoon," She said stepping away from Robert and looking around at their surroundings. Her eyes settled on the stone bench. "Ah, my nemesis," she said with a laugh.

Robert smiled. "It was that sharp rock and not the bench that was the problem," he said as took a seat on the old bench and thought about those few awkward moments that had changed their lives so profoundly.

_His father had gone walking with the young couple and then, suddenly, disappeared when they'd arrived at one of Robert's favorite spots. He had known that they were never truly alone, but this seemed like the most privacy they were ever going to get and Cora's trip was coming to a close, so he knew that, if he was going to ask her to marry him, he had to do it quickly. He'd taken her hand and led her to the bench where he'd suggested they sit for a minute. Neither of them had noticed the sharp, pointy stone that had somehow found it's way onto the bench. Robert had taken his usual seat and Cora sat down beside him and right on top of the jagged stone. She'd screamed and leapt up. Robert had jumped up as well to see what was wrong and the two of them had crashed into each other. Robert had landed back in his place on the bench and Cora came down on his lap. They'd both been embarrassed by the impropriety of their proximity, but when Cora had tried to get up, Robert had held her tightly. Having her so near had emboldened him and he'd told her that he though that her sitting on his knee could have been a better position for her to be in for the question he had for her. He'd taken a deep breath before he'd asked her to marry him. She'd said yes and then kissed him like he'd never been kissed before. He hadn't been sure - his mind was much more focused on Cora's kiss - but he'd thought he'd heard his father laughing happily somewhere in the distance._

Cora came over and sat on his lap. "Did you put that rock there on purpose?" she asked as she wrapped her arms around his neck and kissed his cheek.

"No,"Robert said, "I don't know how it got their." He smiled teasing and held her close. She shifted carefully and kissed his lips gently, but with a hint of the passion he'd been craving for for five agonizingly long weeks. "I would have, though, if I had known I'd end up with you on my lap kissing me senseless."

Cora smiled coyly. "Well, your asking me to be your wife did have something to do with it." She kissed his neck .

"Oh," Robert said with a soft groan. "What's your excuse now?" he asked as he squirmed.

Cora pulled back and looked at him in feigned shock. "Am I really kissing you senseless, Robert?" she asked sounding quite pleased with herself.

He sighed and tried to change position again. "After five weeks of living like a monk, I have a rather tenuous grasp on my senses when you're around me." She shifted around again and Robert swallowed hard. "Your wiggling isn't helping matters, either." he muttered. She moved her hips more deliberately against him and he yipped. "Cora, please! My self control is a little lacking at the moment," he pleaded.

"These past five weeks have been torture for me too, darling," she cooed in his ear before kissing his lips more insistently. As she kept kissing him, Cora began to feel something poking her in the bottom. "Oh!" she gasped and blushed deeply.

"I tried to warn you," Robert shrugged.

Just then they were discovered by the butler, Gregory. "Oh, good heavens! I hope I'm not interrupting anything," he said playfully as he watched Cora leap up from Robert's lap looking very sheepish. The butler directed his attention to Robert. "My Lord, I've come to inform you that Lord and Lady Grantham will be leaving for London shortly." He gave a nod in Cora's direction and smiled. "Shall I tell them the two of you are on you way?"

"Yes, thank you," Robert said, but stayed seated. He wasn't quite able to stand yet. "Oh, Gregory, are you quite well?" The butler's complexion seemed somewhat sallow to Robert and he was noticeably winded even though it was not that far a walk from the house to the spot where they were.

"It's nothing a good sleep won't cure, My Lord." Gregory said as he straightened up.

"Maybe you should rest between my parent's departure and dinner." Robert suggested. "You've certainly earned it."

"Thank you," Gregory said as he turned and began to make his way back to the house. Robert and Cora followed soon after.


	20. Concerning Hearts

As clouds darkened the sky, the whole house turned out to see Lord Richard and Lady Violet off. Cora was surprised when Violet pulled her into a tentative hug and was stunned when she murmured "Take good care of my boy." before giving her a little smile and climbing into the carriage. As she waved goodbye to her in-laws, Cora couldn't stop smiling. She felt like she might, finally, be finding her place in her husband's home.

The rest of the day went smoothly with Robert at Downton's helm. He tended to the necessary business and still made time to corner his wife in the library. He'd walked in to find her bending down to look for a particular book and he wasn't able to resist the opportunity before him. He snuck up behind her and worked his hand carefully beneath the folds and gathers of her bustled dress to cup her bottom firmly. She gasped and turned quickly as he pinned her against the bookshelf and kissed her until they heard the dinner gong. After she'd been dressed for dinner he'd caught her again in the bedroom and the only thing that kept them from missing dinner entirely was his valet's insistent knocking on Robert's dressing room door. Robert quickly made himself presentable and went into his dressing room after one more long look at the ravishing beauty he married. On their way down to dinner he explained to Cora the Watson merely wanted to inform him that Gregory was feeling unwell and had taken to bed. He'd instructed Watson to check in and to call for the doctor if it seemed necessary. Their dinner began as snow started falling outside.

This dinner for two was far from the model of propriety that Downton was accustomed to. They sat next to each other at the corner of the table talking and cuddling. She ran her hand up and down his arm and smiled as his face reddened and his conversation faltered during the soup course. Her placed his hand on her leg as their entrée arrived and leaned close to whisper daring ideas about how to spend their evening hours into her ear. He watched her bosom rise and fall as her breathing became heavier. By dessert, Cora was having a difficult time keeping Robert at bay. His hand had found its way under her skirts and roamed over her legs and bottom at will. He had undressed her enough times by now to know how to get around her many layers of garments. She tried to maintain her composure while the servants were in the room, but let a few enticing moans slip through her lips when they were alone to further taunt her husband. When his fingers pressed into more intimate territory, he nearly lost control as he watched her eyes flutter shut and her lips quiver as she sighed and steadied herself by holding onto the table. Her blue eyes looked at him coquettishly and it was nearly his undoing. The overheated couple retired to bed without the usual time spent in conversation over an after dinner drink. They'd spent five weeks talking and it was so clear what the two had on their minds that the servants all had to use every ounce for propriety to keep from laughing as the young pair hurried up the stairs. "Do you think the servant's will gossip?" Cora asked as she took off her jewelry and gloves.

Robert untied his tie and unbuttoned his waistcoat. "I'm almost positive they will," he said as he began to remove the pins and ornaments from his wife's hair. They reached the bedroom and clothing soon littered the floor as they were finally able to begin catching up on what they'd been missing. They tumbled into bed and found their rhythm. Their first session was over quickly due to their weeks of forced abstinence and an entire day of foreplay. They kept stroking, caressing, and kissing until Robert was ready for another, more substantial romp.

As they lay tangled up together in the lull between their second and third round Robert gently caressed Cora's back. She sighed contentedly and snuggled closer. "Cora, my lovely, may I ask you something of a personal nature?" Robert asked timidly. Cora's giggle made him realize how foolish his question was, not just because they were lying together in the afterglow of their second rush of passion that evening, but because of how the bond between them had strengthened during his recovery. He ran his fingers through her hair and gently stroked her cheek before he continued with his question. "Cora, my dearest, why did you agree to marry me? You know why I pursued you and how shameful my motives were. I can't understand why someone as wonderful you would agree to such a proposal and even reward your fortune hunter with kisses once the inevitable proposal was made? You surely could have done so much better, Cora." He said with a sigh

She smiled and pulled close to him. "It's silly, so I'll only tell you if you promise you won't laugh at me," she said snuggling into his chest.

"I think my reasons were atrocious. Silly sounds delightful by comparison," Robert muttered.

"You're the man of my dreams, Robert," she said softly. Robert felt as if he'd takes a hit to the chest. He tried to catch his breath as she continued. "From the time I was a girl, I dreamt that a strong, honorable man with gentle eyes, and a voice that made me name song like music would come along and carry me away to his castle in the countryside. When I first met you, everything you said and did - your smile, your laugh, the way you fingers accidentally brushed my hand, - stole my heart before I knew it. I was smitten, darling," she blush and rubbed his chest, "I still am. You were almost everything I'd ever hoped for." He gave her a curious look. "The handsome prince in my girlhood daydreams had always been madly in love with me, but as an adult I understood that fairytales only exist in books and that the reality of choosing a husband isn't that simple. I knew you didn't feel anything for me, but we were a good match, and I was convinced that I could be happy with you, my handsome prince, and do my best to make you happy, too. So you married out of duty and I married because of infatuation and daydreams," she said as she tried to avoid his gaze, "and here we are." she sighed.

"I did feel something for you, Cora." Robert said gently pulling her close. "I always did. Not love, but a comfort and affection that I thought we could build on eventually," he smiled, "and here we are." He rolled over holding her against his chest until she lay on top of him. They just lay quiet for a while and then Robert looked down at her and smiled. "I can't believe I ended up wish such a perfect wife seemingly by accident." She smiled and kissed him deeply. Her hands began to creep across his body and signal that she was awaiting the start of their next round of lovemaking. He was taking a little longer to get into it this time he suddenly jerked and yelled as Cora dipped her hand between his legs and her tickling, light touches quickly heightened his interest. "Can't wait, you naughty girl," he teased as he gave her bottom a swat which made her giggle and let his hands start to roam.

When he collapsed on top of her exhausted after their passions, before he rolled over and settled down for sleep, she held him close to her and he noticed tears in her eyes. "What's wrong?" he asked worriedly, "Are you alright?"

"You've made me happier than I ever hoped to be," she said cuddling close. "I'm more to you that just an account balance. I have no words to describe what hearing you say that you've always felt some bit of affection for me felt like. I know that I'm wanted and that I have a place here with you - at your side. Oh, Robert, I love you so."

She snuggled blissfully against him as guilt surged through Robert. He held her tight. "If I had realized that you felt that way, I would have told you this months ago and every day since. Cora, you were never, ever just and account balance. Never." As the snow flew and the wind howled, Robert and Cora slept naked, holding each other tightly, true partners for the first time.

That was how Emily, the head housemaid, found them when she came in close to dawn to wake Robert and tell him the news. Gregory, the butler at Downton for thirty-five years, had died. Dr. Lennox and said it was a heart attack. Thurgood Gregory's service had seen not only Cora's arrival, but Violet's as well when she'd arrived as his father's young wife as well as the births of both Rosamund and Robert. Cora lay quietly as Robert sat up in bed and cried over this loss as he would have over that of a dear friend. This man had been a part of his life from the time it began. He'd played with Robert, kept boyhood secrets for him, and offered bits of advice he would have never listened to if they'd come from his parents. With his parents and sister gone, loneliness surged through Robert as it never had before. Cora watched her husband suffer silently. His pain brought tears to her eyes. She didn't know what to say so she gently slipped her hand into his. He looked broken as he gazed down at her. Cora sat up and held her arms open to embrace him. Robert pulled her against him and wept into her hair and shoulder.


	21. Suitable Applicant

The blizzard continued into its fourth day and the household continued to mourn the loss of the butler Gregory. Robert had made all of the necessary arrangements and the service, which had taken place the previous day in spite of the weather, had been small, dignified, and respectful - a fitting tribute to the man for whom Downton Abbey grieved. The snow had stranded Robert's parents in London, so they hadn't been able to attend the funeral, but he had asked the doctor to take an urgent message into town with him and, since the doctor and the man who ran the telegraph office were cousins, he knew it would reach his parents in a timely fashion and it had. Richard had sent a reply as soon as he could offering his condolences to the staff and all the things one should say upon a servant's death. Robert's shoulders slumped and he sighed heavily as he reread the newest message from his father. The doctor had brought up to him only an hour or so before. It also concerned things that had to be done though this one was far less comforting.

_'Holidays and events approaching. Butler required. Begin inquiries. Hire suitable applicant on trial basis. Will be home as soon as possible.'_

Robert was tasked with replacing the man he'd known from infancy and someone whom he had regarded as a type of friend. He shook his head. Begin inquiries? 'Suitable applicant'? Gregory had been more to the family than just a resumé and a collection of references. How could he be expected to fill his late butler's position with just a 'suitable applicant'? He put his elbows on his desk and rested his forehead against his hands. He knew his father was right. The holiday parties and the hunt Robert had postponed were fast approaching and a new butler would need to be well settled in by then in order for the events to run smoothly. Also the house simply needed a butler to function properly. It wouldn't be long before the footmen's ambitions overcame their solemnity and the last thing he wanted his parents to return home to was a house full of young men fighting like cockerels for a higher place in the pecking order. A butler kept order and calm below stairs. A house like Downton without a butler was like a ship without a captain - too rowdy and in for a lot of trouble. Robert knew he had to get his emotions in check and do what was expected of him. If he ever hoped to be a proper custodian of the home he loved, he would have to learn to handle decisions like this without undue sentimentality, and yet the person whose position was being filled was someone who had been closer to him than many of his own relatives. Of course he would feel the loss. The sound of a door opening brought him back to the present. He looked up to see Cora standing at the far end of the room.

She always seemed to find him just when he was beginning to miss her. She never left him for very long but she was not intrusive either. She hadn't asked deep, involved questions about his feelings, just gave small gestures of support - a squeeze of his hand, a touch to his shoulder, and a warm embrace - when it seemed he was about to fall apart. They'd scarcely spoken since Gregory's passing, but Robert was certain he would never have been able to cope as well as he had if she hadn't been there with him. She approached slowly and he knew she was watching for any sign that he might want to be left alone. He went to her and pulled her close. She seemed startled for a moment before settling into his embrace and wrapping her arms tightly around him. He looked out at the bleak whiteness of the blizzard and thought about how it seemed to mirror his mood and the mood of Downton Abbey itself. The house was darker than usual and had taken on a chill all the glowing fires in the big fireplaces couldn't fully eradicate.

The only thing that brightened his outlook was seeing Cora and that stubborn coldness only melted away at her touch. As he watched the snow fly outside and heard the gusts of wind, it seemed to him that his only real protection from the icy storm was Cora as she stood holding him. He smiled as she snuggled deeper into him, probably for warmth, and sighed. Maybe they were protecting each other. He hoped so. He wanted to be her protector. He wanted to be a lot of things to her. He didn't know if it had been brought on by grief or maybe their talk some nights before had clarified things for him. He wasn't sure. What he was entirely sure of now was that he was deeply and undeniably in love with his wife. He was convinced these feelings were not just a passing notion or the hazy remnants of a night of passion since they hadn't had one in a few days. He didn't know how to explain it, but he knew beyond a shred of doubt that this was love - real love - the stuff of poems, and ballades, and daydreams. His wife's daydreams and, on one or two occasions when duty and responsibility had slipped from his mind, his own as well. He'd found it without even looking for it. He'd bumped into it at a dance a continent away while he was hunting for another kind of 'suitable applicant'. He resolved that he would tell her and he would make it special. He wanted it to be a memory they would cherish for the rest of their lives. All he needed now was the right moment and a little courage.

Cora gazed up at her husband so deep in thought. She hated that he was hurting and that she was unable to to do anything about it. She reached up and stroked his cheek ever so gently. "Is there anything I can do?" she asked.

Robert pressed a kiss to her head and tightened his hold on her. "Don't go away again. Please. Just stay by my side," he whispered into her hair. "I need you, Cora."


	22. Glimpses of His Future

The storm finally broke after five days and the process of cleaning up began. News had reached the house that several trees had come down on the railroad tracks and it would be at least a week, maybe even two, before the trains would be running again. Robert was going over dates in his head. Yes, his parents would be back in time for their usual yuletide festivities, but the decorating would have to begin without them, and the Christmas party could continue on as scheduled, provided Mother Nature didn't give them another record setting storm. As he went over the details of the party in his mind, he pulled the heavy woolen blanket higher around him as he rode along in the sleigh and gave an irritated grumble. He felt like a fool being towed around. Sleighs were for little boys and elderly grandfathers. Grown men in their prime rode horses, but Dr. Lennox had told him to avoid riding for a few more weeks and since Robert was on his way to see the doctor, he figured he'd better arrive in a manner that followed his advice whether or not it was to his taste. He hadn't been enjoying it at all and wore a childish pout until he felt Cora put her arms around his waist and snuggle close to him. She gave a contented sigh as she watched the snow covered countryside pass by. As he wrapped his arms around his wife, Robert discovered he was developing a whole new appreciation for sleigh rides when he noticed how happy the trip had made her. The sleigh rounded a corner and came upon a particularly picturesque view as they approached the village. "Oh, how beautiful!" she sighed.

Robert smiled. "Very beautiful, indeed," he whispered in her ear in a tone that betrayed the fact that the scenery was the last thing his was interested in. She turned and immediately found herself locked in his gentle kiss. The chauffeur, Ian, snuck a quick peek back at the kissing couple and grinned to himself as the sleigh approached the village.

When they arrived at the hospital, Ian got out of his seat to open the sleigh door only to find the two in the back cuddling blissfully despite being in the middle of the village in broad daylight. Doctor Lennox had been expecting Robert and had gone out to meet him. When he observed the happy young pair in the sleigh he gave a very obvious cough and an understanding smile in Ian's direction as he approached. Robert and Cora parted reluctantly and they and the doctor made conversation as they entered the hospital and then Cora sat in the waiting room while Robert went with the doctor to talk in his office. Doctor Lennox invited Robert to take a seat. "I appreciate your coming down, Lord Bonneville," the doctor said.

Robert was taken aback by Doctor Lennox's formality. Then he realized that, with his father out of town and him running things at Downton, he was being treated as he would be when the estate was in his control. This was a glimpse of his future. Suddenly he felt a little embarrassed about his romantic ride into town with his wife. What would people say and, more to the point, what would they say to his mother? "It's the least I can do after the way you helped with the arrangements, contacting my parents after Gregory's passing, and getting this advertisement out in spite of the weather. I can't tell you how grateful my wife and I are. I'm sure that, when they return, my parents will want to thank you themselves as well." Robert handed the doctor the announcement for a qualified butler.

Doctor Lennox read the paragraph and then cleared his throat. "Forgive my boldness, Your Lordship, but I happen to know a man who seems to fit your given criteria. Might I refer him to you?"

The doctor had always been a source of information for the residents of Downton Abbey. He knew a lot about what was going on in the area because he made so many house calls. Also, he was one of the few people outside the family that Robert sought advice from and the doctor had never steered him wrong. If he was recommending someone for the prized position of butler, the man must be exceptional. "Certainly, Doctor, tell me about him."

* * *

><p>Cora sat in the waiting room while her husband and the doctor talked. She played with the embellishment on her skirt absentmindedly as she gazed out the window. She was bored, but she hadn't wanted to waste time trying to pick out a suitable book for her wait. Robert had been getting into the carriage when he'd turned back and ran up the stairs to invite her along. She'd been overjoyed that he had wanted her company and a sleigh ride with her beloved husband had sounded like it might provide an opportunity to pass a few romantic moments together. Given all that had happened, the passion a little time without her in-laws around was supposed to ignite hadn't materialized and she had started to feel a little starved of physical affection in recent days. Their ride hadn't disappointed her in that respect, but sitting in that room by herself was making her wonder if it had been worth it. A commotion got Cora's attention.<p>

Mrs Long, the wife of a bank teller, entered the room with her twin sons Billy and Michael, her daughter Ingrid. In her arms she cradled her infant daughter Meghan. Michael's right arm was in a cast from his shoulder to the palm of his hand. The two boys were antagonizing their little sister, as older brothers are want to do, and before long little Ingrid was howling and sniffling and begging for her mother to pick her up. "I can't hold you and the baby," the harried mother said to the weeping child. Mrs. Long continued to plead with her daughter, but it was no use.

"I could hold the baby for you, if you'd like," Cora offered.

Mrs. Long looked at her stunned for a moment. She had been so preoccupied that she'd barely noticed there was anyone, let alone the Earl of Grantham's daughter-in-law, in the room with her and now this aristocratic young woman was offering to help her with her children. If it weren't for Cora's disarmingly sweet smile, Mrs. Long would've been mortified. The young American woman's more friendly, open, and outgoing nature and her own exhaustion made the mother more at ease and she thanked Cora profusely as she gently handed her the tiny pink bundle and then took four year old Ingrid on her lap to dry her tears. "You're the Viscountess Bonneville, aren't you?" Mrs. Long finally asked.

"Yes, I am," Cora said as she peered down at the dark-haired six week old baby in her arms.

Mrs. Long apologized for imposing on her by having her hold the child but Cora assured her it was quite alright. "It's good practice," Cora said smiling.

"Oh M'lady, I didn't know!" Mrs. Long exclaimed.

Cora shook her head. "No! No, no, no. I'm not…" Her comment trailed off as she looked down at the infant, "but I'd like to be one day."

The mother understood and gave her a gentle smile. "You'll be a good mum, too, when that day comes, M'lady. Look, you're a natural with children."

She'd never held a child that young before. "Oh, she's beautiful." Cora cooed. Baby Meghan stretched and then nestled into Cora who watched the newborn's little hand as it grasped the blanket in wonder. She marveled at how tiny and perfect the infant was. She was so enthralled that she had a hard time keeping up the conversation with the girl's mother. When the door to Doctor Lennox's office opened, Cora barely noticed as her husband exited and little Michael Long entered..

Robert stood mouth agape as he watched Cora cradle the baby lovingly in her arms and he was hit with a feeling he could barely describe - destiny and love intertwined. She looked so perfect sitting there holding the child that he didn't want to go to her for fear of ruing the moment. She was stunningly beautiful and the sunlight pouring through the window behind her and the light reflected off the freshly fallen snow almost made it seem as if the sight were a glowing vision rather than reality. There were so many things Robert wanted to say to her, but he couldn't speak. She'd taken his breath away. "Cora," he squeaked as his voice cracked. She looked up and smiled brightly at him as the little children giggled.

"Robert, come here," Cora said gently. "There's someone I'd like you to meet." He approached slowly and looked down at his wife and the baby in her arms. Cora seemed so comfortable and at ease. Aside from the the time in the privacy of her bedroom, he'd rarely seen her so relaxed. "Robert darling, this is Meghan." He looked down at the baby as he sat close beside his wife.

"She's magnificent," he said. He touched her hand and smiled when she grabbed ahold of it.

"Would you like to hold her, too, M'lord?" Mrs. Long asked Robert. By now her embarrassment at their difference in station had been replaced by maternal pride.

"I shouldn't," Robert said uncomfortably. Cora gave him a look. "I can't. I don't know how."

"Would you like to learn, M'lord?" Mrs. Long offered.

Robert would've been quite happy to let the baby stay in Cora's arms where she seemed happy, but he knew Cora wanted him to hold her so he accepted Mrs. Long's offer. He did as he was told and soon Megan was securely settled in his arms. At first it looked like she might cry and Robert regretted moving her. "I'd certainly be upset if someone took me out of your arms," he said to his wife. The little children giggled again and their mother quieted them while trying to give the young husband and wife a little space. Cora was blushing as she leaned over to soothe the baby and by doing so calm her nervous husband.

He was nearly overwhelmed with a desire to kiss her. His concerns about what people would say and what they would think were gone, replaced by a need to hold Cora close. He would have thrown caution and propriety to the wind and stolen a kiss right then, but he felt someone staring at him. He looked around trying to see who had figured out his intentions. Ingrid and Billy were fighting again and Mrs. Long was trying to get them to stop as they waited for Michael to get out of the doctor's office. Then he heard Cora's soft giggle. "Robert, she wants your attention." He looked down and found his gaze met by a pair of intense, studious, dark eyes. The infant fixed him with an appraising stare for a minute or two as if she were trying to memorize his face and then, after a look at Cora, yawned and went back to sleep just as her brother walked out of the doctor's office. "Well, I think she likes you," Cora said.

Robert asked Ian to take Mrs. Long and her children home and then return to bring him and his wife back to Downton Abbey. As he walked in from helping the mother get all of her brood into the sleigh, he found Cora and the doctor in conversation. He didn't intrude, but couldn't help but be curious about what they were discussing. When the sleigh returned, Doctor Lennox walked them out and saw them on their way. As they left the village, Robert's arm found its way around Cora as she snuggled against his chest. "Cora, are you anxious for a baby of our own," Robert asked uncomfortably as he tried to keep from bringing up her conversation with the doctor.

Cora fidgeted in her husband's embrace. "Of course I'd love to have a baby, but I'm not over anxious to become a mother. It will happen when we're ready. I'm confident of that," she settling into him again.

"I know I shouldn't feel this way," Robert said as he gently stroked her back under the blanket, "but I hope we have a little time together together before we're parents." He tightened his hold on her and kissed her forehead. "I'm not ready to share your affection."

"Robert Crawley, are you flirting with me?" Cora asked teasingly. "That's not how you keep from fathering a baby," she giggled.

"That's a risk I'm willing to take," Robert said with a mischievous gleam in his eye. They kissed and cuddled the rest of the way home.


	23. Attraction vs Affection

Robert felt as if he were under siege. Cora had been watching him all afternoon. It wasn't a seductive gaze or a hungry look of desire, she just kept observing him. He had felt her eyes on him at dinner. He hadn't been quick enough to catch her staring at him, but he could sense it when he turned away from her. As they walked up the stairs together, he was planning to ask her about it once he figured out a dignified way to do so when she leaned in close and whispered into his ear. "I have a treat planned for you when we get to the bedroom."

Robert stopped in his tracks. He was stunned by his wife's boldness and a little excited by it as well. "Is that as fun as it sounds?" he asked with a grin.

"It could be," she said and rubbed his arm gently. "I've missed your caress, my darling husband," she said softly.

Robert let his eyes wander over Cora's body for a moment and then he scooped her up into his arms. "Forgive my impatience, my dear," he said to his giggling bride as he hurried to the bedroom.

He had to put her down to open the door to the bedroom. "Ok, I'll see you when you're dressed for bed," Cora said with a smile as she stood blocking the doorway.

Robert looked at her a little confused. "Is calling the servants really necessary? I always thought we managed well enough on our own. Besides, I rather like undressing you," he said quietly as he wrapped his arms around her waist. "It's like unwrapping a present," he said as he started unbuttoning the back of her dress.

Cora pretended to be shocked. "Robert, you needn't be so hasty. Let me arrange your surprise. Come to me when you're dressed for bed." She stood on her toes to kiss her husband's lips. "Trust me, darling," she whispered before closing her bedroom door and leaving him standing in the hall. With a sigh the pouting young man went into his dressing room and grudgingly rang for his valet.

When Robert entered his wife's bedroom, which had become "their bedroom" some time ago, she was standing by the bed waiting for him in a peach silk and lace nightgown bathed in the glow of candlelight. She smiled at the look on his face as he let his gaze wander over her. She was beautiful - radiant - and she was his. As Robert admired Cora looks, he fought to told in the words he longed to say. He couldn't say he loved her now. It would look like simple lust. This wasn't the right moment. He wanted it to be special. Cora was enjoying watching his reaction as he took in the sight of her in her new nightgown. She was always happy when he seemed pleased with her appearance, but in the back of her mind there was always a twinge of pain that accompanied that pleasure. Being desired was a poor substitute for being loved by the man she adored and that distinction was on her mind more and more frequently. She longed to be loved, but his desire was all she had so she kept smiling and tried to push thoughts of unrequited love from her mind. She turned her back to him and looked over her shoulder. "Do you see something you like?" she asked as she playfully wiggled her hips.

He smiled. "Is this ensemble the treat you promised?"

"No," she giggled. She walked over to him and teasingly took hold of the collar of his pajama shirt. "I need to get you ready for that," she said as she carefully unbuttoned his shirt. She ran her hands over his chest and caressed his shoulders. "Your so tense, my love, and have been for days," she said gently. "I want to try to relax you if I can." She pushed the shirt off his shoulders and down his arms. She kissed his neck as it hit the floor.

"I like being relaxed by you," he said grinning. He kissed her soundly and his hands began to wander.

"Good," she said as she worked herself out of his arms and away from his groping hands. "Lay down on your stomach."

Robert held out his hand toward the bed which was draped with a towel. "After you, my dearest."

"Is that all you can think of?" Cora said only partially kidding. "At least pretend to be interested in what I've worked up if only for my sake." She couldn't help but be a little hurt. She had put all this together out of genuine concern for her husband's wellbeing and had even consulted his doctor for advice and all he could think about was bedding her. She sighed and felt that slight sting as she was reminded that her relationship with Robert was still based far more on physical attraction rather than any real affection, at least on his part, and there wasn't anything she could do about it. She couldn't make him love her the way she loved him after all.

Robert saw the sadness in his wife's eyes and his shoulders slumped. He got on the bed as he'd been instructed and wondered how he always managed to do something to upset her even though causing her any unhappiness was the last thing he wanted to do. He felt her drizzle some oil on his back and then being to firmly but gently rub his back. The oil seemed to heat up on its own and he began to catch the smell of gingerbread. "What is that?" he asked her. "It certainly smells delicious."

"It's something the doctor sent for you after I asked him if he thought a back massage might help your shoulder even if it was given by someone who wasn't a professional," Cora explain."Dr. Lennox thought a gentle back massage with this ginger, cinnamon, and nutmeg oil would be good for your shoulder and help you relax after all the events of the last few days." Cora could feel her husbands muscles releasing under her touch.

"Ginger, cinnamon, and nutmeg? I'm going to smell like a cake," he chuckled. "Maybe it will give me sweet dreams as well?"

She smiled when he settled down and gave a contented sigh. "Are you enjoying it?" she asked softly.

Robert was in heaven. It was the first time in nearly a week that his body wasn't tense. He hadn't noticed just how much tension he'd been storing up until Cora started easing it away. "It's perfect. You're perfect." They were silent for a long time as Robert thought about the devotion, caring, and love his marriage on convince had brought him. It was so unexpected and yet he couldn't imagine how he could have ever thought he'd have been happy with a cold and distant business partner for a wife. He felt so very lucky to have chosen the woman he had. "I adore you, Cora. You're the light of my life. What would I do without you?"

"Get your rub downs somewhere else, I suppose," she said teasingly. Robert was happy to hear her joking with him. He'd started to notice her the she seemed slightly out of sorts recently. "Have you ever gotten a massage before?" she asked.

"Yes," he answered. He was having trouble concentrating on her words because he was too focused on her touch as her hands worked their way up and down his back. He thought about how much he'd like to rub Cora down. Rub her down, feel her up, and do several other enjoyable things to her as well. "At the sports club in London."

"How does mine compare? Am I doing it right?" she asked. She wanted to be sure he was enjoying all this. She'd been so embarrassed about asking Dr. Lennox about it that she had nearly given up on the idea.

"It's impossible to make a comparison," Robert replied after pausing to think it over. "The masseur at the club is a large, hairy fellow and I don't know what I might have done to offend this man, but it must have been egregious because he doesn't so much rub me down as beat me down. As much of a thrashing as he can give out without leaving marks."

Cora stopped rubbling her husband's shoulders long enough to kiss him on the cheek. "That sounds awful," she said. "How can that possibly relax you?"

"It doesn't," Robert chuckled. "I end up leaving the massage table more tenderized than tranquil. I'm convinced that man is a frustrated bare-knuckle boxer who derives his joy from the making grown men wince in pain. You, on the other hand, put me perfectly at ease and are very gentle. You're careful and sweet and full of affection," Robert said as he watched her in the full length mirror that was against the wall. The glow of the candles provided enough light to pass though the thin silk of his wife's negligée and silhouette her body perfectly. "You're also the most lovely girl I've ever seen and you make me happier than I can describe." Cora silently wished that he'd try to describe it, but didn't say anything. Robert was so happy and the stress had finally gone from him. She couldn't bring up an awkward subject like feelings without getting him all tense again. She picked up the bottle of oil from the bowl of warm water she had it in to keep it warm. Robert grinned as he watched her bend over. "And did I mention you have quite a nice bottom as well?" he asked as he reached behind her and patted her backside. She jumped up and yelped in surprise. Robert looked at her and smiled.

"Behave yourself or I'll stop," she said giving him a stern look.

"I couldn't help myself, my angel, you're nearly impossible to resist in that nightgown." he said looking her up and down. "I suppose you could take it off, but that wouldn't make it easier for me to keep my hands off you."

His wife sigh and shook her head. "Robert Crawley, you are incorrigible," she said as she began to massage his shoulders.

Robert was enjoying his wife's attentions too much to risk annoying her. Something was definitely bothering her and it wasn't right to taunt her. "Have you ever had a massage?" he asked changing the subject.

"No," Cora replied, "that's why I keep asking if I'm doing it right. I've only read about it."

"Whatever questionable material you're reading that suggests treating your husband so wonderfully and in such a sensual way is a publication I heartily approve of," Robert teased.

Cora smirked. "Well, it wasn't husband-specific and wasn't all that salacious. I think it was about helping your lover relax during stressful times. It was published a while ago - around tax season, maybe?"

He laughed. "A stressful time indeed. It can make a man do some very strange things."

"Like marry an American." Cora said without thinking. She was instantly sorry she'd made the comment.

Robert sighed heavily. "That wasn't what I meant. Cora." Silence fell between then again. Finally Robert stood up and faced his wife. "Your turn," he said gesturing to the bed.

"Are you sure?" she asked. "This was supposed to be for you. I didn't do this to get you fuss over me. You're the one who's been miserable these past few days. I…" Robert silenced her protests with a kiss.

"I don't think you've had a truly enjoyable day since you married me. You more than deserve it. Besides, you said yourself that this was not a husband-specific activity. You said it was for a 'lover'. You are my lover, so you meet the given criteria." He leaned down and whispered in her ear, "If I'm half as good at it as you are, you'll love it. I promise."

She carefully slipped out of her delicate nightgown. The room was chilly as she stood naked in front of her husband. She lay down on her stomach and waited for Robert to start. She was surprised to feel a towel being draped over her legs and bottom. She looked back at him and gave a small smile. "Thank you," she said.

"I don't want you to be too cold," He said as he poured a little of the oil onto her back. "Let me know if I'm being too rough with you," he said as he applied firm strokes to her shoulders. He saw the smile creeping across her lips. "I told you you'd like it," he said as his hands slowly worked the way down her back and then up again at a slow, gentle pace.

Cora laid there with her eyes closed in quiet bliss for nearly a half hour as Robert rubbed and caressed her back. She thought of nothing but how much she loved her husband was and how they definitely had to make these massages a more regular occurrence. Robert thoughts, meanwhile, had wandered to more adult oriented territory. He wanted her. His eyes gazed down at her hungrily. He let a hand slide under the towel and rub over the swell of her bottom. Her eyes opened. He leaned down very close to her and kissed her deeply. She rolled over and let him lay down next to her as the kiss continued. He pulled the towel off of her legs as he rolled her onto her back.

He found he liked making love with the candles lit. He liked to see Cora's reactions to his movements. He had grown out of the bashfulness he'd felt about his body only a handful of months before and he never tired of seeing his wife undressed. He took his time as he savored the feeling of her body writhing against him and her breath on his neck and shoulder. Her thick, dark hair was fanned out messily on the pillow and her pink lips quivered indicating how close to the edge of her climax she was. Her cheeks were rosy and her eyes were closed. "Cora," he murmured as she began to reach the height of her pleasure, "I adore you." Her eyes opened and she held his look as she reached ecstasy. He found release a moment later. As he held her close, Robert noticed how distant and melancholy his wife seemed. There was and odd silence between them that hadn't been there for quite some time. He looked down at Cora as she stared out the window, her thoughts clearly ages away. "Is something the matter, Cora," he asked tentatively.

She looked at him and smiled sweetly, but something in her eyes still seemed sorrowful in some way. "No, I'm alright. I was just thinking about how I'll put together the Christmas decorations," Cora lied. "I don't know why I'm even bothering with thin. Your mother will just pick them apart and do them up again them herself."

Robert kissed her forehead. "Don't let Mama get to you. I know whatever you come up with will be beautiful. Besides, with Papa's business in London delayed and the rail lines impassable, they might not be back in time for her to do too much meddling."

"She will meddle, though,"Cora grumbled.

Robert smiled. "Oh, of course she will meddle, but she won't be able to meddle much." Cora looked up at him as he gently played with her hair. "I wish I could make Mama see how wonderful you are, Cora, and how very happy you make me, but I can't and I don't know that I'll ever be able to do that. Just remember that I adore you and am thankful every day that I have you here by my side."

Cora kissed his lips gently. "You'r so sweet, my darling husband. I love you." She kissed him again and tried to conceal the return of her malaise. "I love you so very much."

Cora remained wide awake long after Robert drifted off to sleep beside her. She was pleased to see him slumbering away peacefully for the first time in days, but it didn't brighten her quickly sinking spirits as much as she'd hoped it would. She sighed as she turned away from her husband. Maybe, she thought, it had been a bad idea to tell Robert how she really felt about him several nights before. Ever since then she had been wishing for him to love her more fervently that ever. She knew that she had no right to lay claim to his heart and no reason to think he'd give it to her. Now that was the only thing that could make her happy. Little scraps of affection weren't enough anymore and she didn't know what to do about it. He had already noticed her gloominess and he would keep asking her about it until he got answers. Those answers would effect their relationship greatly. How could they not? Tears rolled down her face as she realized that the happiness she just begun to feel secure was more than likely going to leave her again, and perhaps for good this time. She rolled over to face her husband again and gently stroked his hair. "Please love me, Robert," she whimpered to him as he slept. "Love me."

"I do," he murmured and smiled in his sleep.

"What?" she gasped.

"I do. Now you may kiss the groom," he mumbled and snuggled into her. "My Cora," he sighed.

She couldn't help but smile. Even in his sleep he was still able to melt her heart. She kissed him softly and closed her eyes.


	24. Thorns of the English Rose

Violet fussed with her napkin impatiently as Richard took his time pursuing the menu at one of his favorite London restaurants. "I don't know why you're studying the menu so hard. You always order the same things every time we come here for tea."

"Do I?" Richard replied glancing over the top of the menu at her before returning his gaze to the page.

Violet gave an indignant huff. "Yes, you do. Either smoked salmon or chicken sandwiches, a black current, blueberry, or gooseberry scone with clotted cream and jam - the gooseberry is your favorite - and whatever the day's special is for dessert. If it's something chocolate, you'll probably have two and if it's pear tart, you'll have two and then try to talk me out of mine." She rolled her eyes theatrically, sat straight in her chair, and set her withering stare on her husband.

He was unfazed. "You didn't mention the tea," he said calmly and without looking at her.

"What!" she snipped barely managing to keep from looking as annoyed as she was.

He kept his eyes on the menu. Nothing in his features changed except for the tight-lipped smile curling his lips despite all his efforts to contain it. "You didn't mention what type of tea I usually…"

"Assam," his wife interrupted with exasperation.

Richard laughed at his wife's thinly veiled annoyance. He loved to tease her. "That sounds delicious, Violet. If you had told me earlier I wouldn't have bothered looking at a menu."

"Had I been able to pry your attention from that blasted menu sooner, I would have reminded you of your usual fare," she muttered. "Besides, there are more pressing things I wish to discuss with you." She quieted as the waiter arrived and Richard placed their order. As her husband requested an additional piece of pear tart, She noticed someone coming toward their table. "Melissa, so nice to see you," Violet said happily as she and Richard rose to greet a young, pretty, blonde woman with intense green eyes, "it's been ages.".

"Lord and Lady Grantham, how lovely to see you," she said and gave Lady Grantham a hug. As the two women chatted and gossiped, the usually talkative and good natured earl sat in moody silence. Lady Melissa Beaumont - now Viscountess Sundermoore since her marriage to Percy Hawthorne the spring that he and Robert had spent in America - was one of the few people Lord Grantham could not stand. He found her calculating, self-obsessed, manipulative, and unnecessarily cruel to those ladies with whom she found fault whether the fault was real or simply rumored. Ever since she had begun toying with his son's heart for her own gain, he had taken to referencing her as 'Machiavelli in a Frock'. He had been pleased when he'd heard she'd gotten herself quickly married off while Robert was in the US and had not allowed his son to return to England until he'd grown interested enough in a gentle, sweet, and entrancingly beautiful girl by the name of Cora Levinson to ask her to join him there and see his home which had meant that he would eventually ask her to be his wife. This delay was in part to avoid having to deal with his son's moping about all summer brokenhearted and in part because he had thought Cora would be a good match for Robert emotionally as well as financially. She was clearly hopelessly enamored of him and that made Richard confident that she wouldn't take his son for granted or treat him as badly as that 'Machiavelli in a Frock' had. The food and tea arrived and Melissa immediately noticed the extra slice of pear tart. "Oh, Lord Grantham, you're so kind to include me," she said and proceeded to order a scone and some sandwiches. He had to include her, of course - it would be rude not to - but being a good gentleman did nothing to make him feel better about watching _that woman_ take _his_ extra slice of tart. "And how is Robert these days?" Melissa asked as she stirred her tea.

"Oh he's well," Violet replied.

"And married." Richard interjected. "Happily."

"Oh," Melissa said calmly, "anyone I might know?"

"Not unless you frequent far flung reaches of the colonies," Violet snipped.

Melissa smiled. "So his little expedition to America produced an alliance?"

"It produced a marriage," Richard growled.

Melissa smiled at Richard. "Well, it seems his immigrant bride has already won her way into your good graces," she said. "What's she like?"

"She's charming,…" Richard said.

"In a way that generally seems too forward for a young lady of our station." Violet added and ignored Richard's displeased expression.

"… Very sweet and attentive toward Robert,…" Richard continued.

"Or emotionally needy, depending on how you look at it," his wife said.

"… And stunningly pretty," the Earl said firmly as he gave his wife a look across the table. " Even you can't deny that, Violet."

"She's a pleasing blossom to be sure, but nothing in comparison to a true, English rose," Violet replied.

Richard sat back in his chair with a huff. "She's delightful," he insisted.

"She's American," Violet retorted dismissively.

Richard let his mind wander and he tuned out the conversation between his wife that the woman she would have preferred to be her daughter-in-law as they carped about every aspect of Cora. Even her good qualities were turned into marks against her. Every so often he'd pipe up in her defense, but it did little to stem the tide of criticism which was growing ever crueler. Even when the waiter brought him a second slice of tart, it did little to perk him up. "So her maiden name was Levinson?" Melissa asked with a particularly sharp edge to her voice. "What sort of name is that?"

Violet shook her head. "Heaven only knows. They change last names there. Make a little money, have your name changed to something that sounds less foreign, and there you go - instant aristocracy."

"Instant _American_ aristocracy," Melissa corrected. The two women giggled.

"That's not the half of it." Violet said. "Her father's name is Isidore. Isidore? It could be Greek I suppose, or maybe of more of an eastern origin. Then again it could be another American invention - you know, a little from here and a little from there. That whole 'melting pot' concept they seem so pleased with over there. Can you imagine? Oh, how far have we sunk to have been forced into making the next Lady Grantham the daughter of Isidore and Martha Levinson?" she lamented.

Melissa looked sympathetic. "Isidore and Martha are such common sounding names. The kind you'd expect shopkeepers to have."

"Well, he did make his fortune in dry goods," Violet replied. Both ladies laughed and Richard took a sizable mouthful of pear tart to be certain he kept his comments to himself. This topic had long ago begun to grate on his nerves.

Melissa shook her head. "Your scullery maid probably has a more respectable lineage." She narrowed her eyes and lowered her voice to a conspiratorial murmur. "And doesn't this whole 'cash for titles' business have an air of obscenity about it? I mean, it's practically a form of prostitution. It must take a very low-minded woman to resort to bartering herself into nobility like that."

The comment even took Violet by surprise. "Now, I wouldn't take it that far, Melissa. Cora is far from ideal, I grant you, but she is a proper, respectable girl. Let's not be unkind to her."

Richard had finally reached the end of his ability to tolerate Melissa's company or her current conversation - which amounted to little more than speaking ill of someone she had not yet met. He was also nothing short of disgusted by his wife's participation in such gossip even as she had seemed to be warming to Cora, albeit ever so slightly, when they were at home. Her hypocrisy was what infuriated him most. "Why stop now, Violet? All the two of you have been doing is disparaging her. No, you couldn't care less about how 'unkind' you are to Cora. Your concern is rooted elsewhere. I think your unease about that last statement has more to do with the implication that any woman who marries with an eye toward boosting her own social ranking is some type of prostitute. By that standard certainly the second daughter of an all but unknown baronet who brought nothing but beauty, intelligence, and a wicked sense of humor to enrich her marriage to a future earl could also be seen to have sold herself for a title." He fixed his wife with a cold stare.

Violet's face had gone pale. She felt as if her heart itself had been slashed by his words. How could he bring himself to say those things about her? "Richard," she said in a soft and pained tone, "don't be cruel to me." Her blue eyes pleaded for the forgiveness she couldn't bring herself to ask him for. "Please." She would never admit it to anyone, but when he stood to leave it put her on the verge of tears. "Richard, wait. I'll go with you," she said, her voice having lost all of its usual power and authority. "Wait for me, please."

"Don't be silly, dear, stay and enjoy yourself. I have some business to attend to. It wouldn't interest you in the least," he said. It was a lie and she knew it. They had been planning to spend the whole of the afternoon and evening together. He paid for the tea and left as his hurting wife stood watching him walk away from her. She returned to her seat as she looked out the window and watched him disappear in the crowd.

Richard went to the restaurant where he and Violet were supposed to have dinner that evening and canceled their reservation. Then he went to the house and had a message taken to Marmaduke, his son-in-law, asking if he could join them for dinner on such short notice. He then went and informed the cook that the lady of the house would be home alone that night and would be dining alone. As soon as the dinner invitation from Rosamund and Marmaduke arrived, he was on his way. He'd given instructions that Her Ladyship not be informed of where he'd gone and that as few servants as possible were to be told.

Violet had not remained at the restaurant long after Richard's departure. She was embarrassed, wounded, angry, and sorry about the incident and wanted to talk it through with her husband. Melissa dropped her off at home and Violet immediately felt that something wasn't quite right as soon as she walked in. It was too quiet. "Richard," she called as she wandered from room to room, "Richard, we really must talk." She roamed the house in search of him until the dressing gong rang. She went upstairs to change for her dinner out. Surely Richard would be back in time to get ready for their reservation.

She kept listening for the sounds of her husband getting ready in the room next door as she was being dressed for dinner. She put extra care into her appearance that evening hoping that, even though she wasn't young anymore, Richard still might find her enticing and they might be able to finish their eventual, inevitable reconciliation after what had happened that afternoon in the same manner they had made up after arguments so many years before.

By a quarter past seven, she was standing in the main hall waiting for her husband in a hunter green gown with black trimming and a lovely matching hat that contrasted beautifully with her auburn hair. She paced around the room as seven thirty passed. When the clock reached a quarter past eight, fifteen minutes after their reserved time at the restaurant, Violet realized that Richard wasn't coming to pick her up and wouldn't be dining with her at all that evening. She caught a glimpse of herself in the mirror on the wall and a tear trailed down her cheek as she reached up and removed her hat. More tears came slowly and unbidden as she sat on the steps and waited for her husband's return. At around a quarter to ten, she slowly made her way up the stairs so that the servants could get on with their nightly duties. She sat in the window seat of the large window that looked out over the street. She leaned against the cold glass as she watched the carriages travel up and down the street and stop at one grand home or another - every one but hers. People were slowly beginning to return home from their night's festivities. The clock struck ten and then eleven, but she stayed perched in the window watching for Richard to come home.

Sometime after eleven, after the carriage traffic had all but ceased entirely, a thought occurred to her that would've seemed absolutely out of the question only a day before. Richard might not have planned to return home to her at all that night. First she tried to shake off the idea entirely and then, as the time passed with no sign of him, she attempted to be rational about that possibility. He could've stayed at the club, or with one of his widower chums after a night out with his friends and associates who were all in town for the regimental reunion and all now stuck in town thanks to the storm disrupting the rail lines. She willed herself to simply believe the scenario she'd built up, but the need for confirmation kept her restless. If he'd done either of those things, he'd have brought his valet with him. She went to her bedroom and rang for her maid before once again taking up her position on the window seat.

The ladies maid was surprised to find Her Ladyship out of her bedroom when Violet called to her from the window. "Yes, M'Lady," the young woman asked.

"Maggie, did Lord Grantham take his valet with him when he left?" Violet asked unable to hide her concern.

"No, M'Lady," Maggie replied.

Violet closed her eyes and sighed. "And did he make any mention of when he might be returning home?"

"I'm sorry, M'Lady, but as far as I know he did not," the maid said.

"Very well," Violet said recovering most of her usual formality.

"M'Lady," Maggie said nervously. Violet did not speak, but merely looked at the small blonde haired girl no older that her daughter. "It's much warmer in your bedroom. You might be more comfortable there."

"I'm sure I would be," Violet said as she looked back at the window, "but I want to wait for His Lordship to return home."

"Shall I bring your a blanket? It's awfully cold tonight," the maid offered.

A smile briefly crossed Violet's lips. "That's really very kind of you, Maggie, but I'm positive it won't be necessary. Lord Grantham will surely be arriving home shortly." She dismissed the maid and sat back down on the window seat watching for Richard's carriage. As the young maid slipped through the green baize door, she heard Lady Grantham begin to cry quietly as the clock struck midnight.


	25. Seldon's Influence

Richard hadn't had near as easy an evening as he had expected. He had gone to his daughter and son-in-law's home because he wanted to discuss the run in with "Machiavelli in a Frock" and how best to handle things when she came to Downton over the holidays with people who knew at least as much as he did about the full extent of her connection to Robert. That was a topic of conversation to be sure, but Rosamund had also made it clear that she thought he'd treated her mother unfairly. "Remember that it was your idea to keep Robert's whole situation with Melissa from Mama to begin with," she pointed out for the third or fourth time that evening. "You shouldn't be angry with her for a misjudgment you've helped to foster by keeping all of this from her."

"Rosamund, please…" Richard began to protest, but his headstrong daughter ignored him.

"And you punished her for what really were Melissa's comments. From what you said, Mama was listing her usual complaints about Cora - her being an American, her usual social foibles, and Mama's views that Cora is a little spoiled and too emotional - but the real insults were leveled by Melissa," Rosamund said. "Mama even defended Cora, immediately, when Melissa compared her marriage to Robert with prostitution. Yet, now Mama's sitting up in that cold window seat waiting for you to come home. And what you said to her…"

He saw his daughter's indignant pout and sighed. "Your defense of your mother is a credit to you. We argue and such on occasion, but at least there is love in this family." He was pleased to see her smile at last. The family he'd made was so very different from the one he'd grown up in. His own father would've never tolerated such insolence from one of his children, especially a daughter. Even so, he could not imagine being a father like the one he'd so detested. Just the thought of it made him cringe even now.

_Seldon Crawley IV had been everything a man of his time should have been - tall, handsome, a decorated veteran, wealthy, and a powerful presence in whatever room he entered. His marriage to Lady Edith Grainger, a daughter of the Earl of Carnarvon, had been the talk of society as much for the extravagance of the reception as for the bride's beauty. They'd appeared to be the ideal family, but reality was far different. Only his position as first-born son had saved Richard from the full brunt of life within Downton Abbey's walls. _

_Seldon, while appearing to be the picture of the ideal Victorian era man,had very few skills. He'd even lacked the few required to properly manage an estate. He'd had no sense of money management, spent frivolously, but kept his charitable contributions as small as he could while still keeping to his duties of noblesse oblige. The one thing he had had a knack for beyond spending which bordered on the ludicrous even to those of his standing was an uncanny ability to gauge how things ought to be, at least ho whey should appear on the surface. With great care he directed his life, and everyone in it, like a great play to meet and exceed the expectations of his class even if the perfection was all illusion. No one could step out of place or challenge him in any way without being quickly and harshly confronted. He'd married the woman he'd decided would garner him the most envy. They'd never loved each other but were both sure that the marriage 'looked right'. emotions were immaterial. The couple had had children as close to when Seldon saw fit as biology would allow and then he'd had four other lives to run as he felt they should be. By the time Richard returned home from school, after his siblings had grown into young people with their own minds, the house had been in near constant turmoil. Anything could've tipped the place into a figurative civil war at that point, but what, or rather who, had done it was Violet arriving into their lives and Richard couldn't have been more thankful for finding such a vibrant woman._

"Will you remind Mama of the love in this family when you get back?" Rosamund asked.

Richard gave a sigh. "I'll talk to her when she wakes up. It's after midnight. Your mother was fast asleep long ago and I wouldn't want to disturb her. There is no need for you to continue to try and make me feel guilty with this fictional portrait of your mother sitting tearful and forlorn waiting all to catch sight of the carriage approaching. It was only a disagreement, Rosamund, she and I are quite alright, I assure you," Richard said trying to ease his daughter's unspoken, but barely concealed fear. Richard and Violet rarely fought and Rosamund had been a child the last time he'd walked out of the house and left his wife suddenly alone for a few hours. That time she had waited for him and whimpered apologies through tears when he'd returned to the point it had made him feel a little guilty. He was glad that his wife couldn't stay awake like she used to. Even so, he'd still go to her bed to check on her and he'd still give her a goodnight kiss.

"Yes, Papa," Rosamund said at least partially pacified, "so what do we do about Melissa then? Do we tell Robert?" she asked. "Do we tell Cora?"

Marmaduke, who had remained silent throughout Richard's and Rosamund's discussion of Violet, felt comfortable weighing in on this topic. "Let your brother handle his own wife. I'll send a message on to him explaining the conversation you and Lady Grantham have had with her and our theories about her motives. He'll discuss what he feels he needs to with Cora." They all agreed that this plan was probably best and then moved on to more lighthearted conversation. It was nearly one o'clock when Richard finally got into his carriage and started for his London home.

As they walked upstairs, Rosamund gently caressed her husband's shoulder. "I'm sorry you had to sit through all that. It must've been terribly awkward," she cooed and gave him a kiss on the cheek.

Marmaduke smiled and wrapped his arm around his wife's waist. "You forget that I had four older sisters, my love. I've been conditioned from my earliest days to be quite used to being dropped into talk of everyone's personal business." His wife giggled and leaned into him affectionately. "My silence is a finely honed defense mechanism against saying something that I shouldn't," he replied with a smirk as they walked to the bedroom.

As his carriage rumbled along, Richard let his mind wander back to his youth and the surprising parallels and vast oceans of difference between his situation and that of his son.

_Given his father's temperament, Richard always figured he could have either grown up to be just like him or his polar opposite. There had never been much middle ground on anything concerning his father. Richard had chosen the latter path and was always more focused on the way things were rather than the way they seemed to be, and genuine happiness over an easily attained, but hollow facsimile. He didn't stifle his emotions and was not embarrassed by them. "They're just as much a part of me as my arms and legs," he'd once told his mother much to her disappointment._

_He'd met eighteen year old Violet at her first party of her first season and by the end of the night he'd been without doubt that she was the woman he wanted to marry. He'd told her as much and then set about trying to convince her of how right he was. She was fiery, smart, funny, beautiful, passionate - everything he loved. His parents abhorred the match, so Richard publicly announced their engagement at her family's home. That way it would be known in the society circles before it was known at Downton Abbey. The shortness of their engagement had also been the result of his wanting to involve his family as little as possible. Despite their opposition to the union, he parents had figured that the scandal of breaking them up would be worse for the family than allowing their son the woman he loved and soon Violet had arrived at Downton Abbey as the new Viscountess Downton. The unkindness that had been visited upon her unrelentingly by her in-laws had gone nearly unnoticed as the pair basked in the joys of newlywed bliss. Seldon had been quietly working on a plan to annul the marriage when, sooner than anyone expected or indeed thought possible, Violet was with child. She'd flitted merrily around the house with a care in the world, immunized to the dismissive treatment and barbed comments sent her way by Richard's love and the excitement over their future._

_After Rosamund's arrival it had gotten harder and harder for Violet to cope with the distain that the birth of a girl had done nothing to abate. Her unexplainable inability to get pregnant again hadn't helped matters. Often she would sneak off to the nursery to hide from her overbearing in-laws. It had been the one place they wouldn't go looking for her. Richard would find her there and stay with her, sometimes for hours playing with their beloved little girl and trying to forget the harsh world outside the nursery door. _

_Finally, nearly four and a half years after Rosamund's birth, Violet was finally expecting again. Far from being the picture of radiant joy she had been during her first pregnancy, Violet had been weepy and depressed under the ever mounting pressure to "make this one a boy". Then one day something happened - Violet insisted she couldn't remember and no one ever came forward to tell him what they knew - but Richard had returned home from riding to find his wife in an unconscious heap at the bottom of the stairs. "It seems she tripped," his father had remarked blankly as he'd walked through the hall as if nothing were wrong. Richard had lost whatever little bit of respect he'd had for his father in that moment._

_She'd lost the baby girl she'd been carrying and relations between Richard and his parents had reached rock bottom. Violet had become pregnant again after another two years of waiting and Richard refused to leave her for any longer than he had to. By this time Violet had put any qualms about arguing with her husband's parents out of her mind completely. She had spent years under attack from the two of them and now she'd begun to fight back. She was well into her seventh month when, after a disagreement between them that had devolved into a shouting match, she'd begun having complications. Robert was born the next week, a month early. He was tiny, thin, and weak, but he was alive. Downton had an heir but it had also been on the verge of losing Violet. The strain of the pregnancy with its recent problems, the difficult birth of an early baby, and the constant stress she was under had taken all Violet's strength and she spent the next two weeks in bed barely alive. She had told him later that her first conscious memory was being cradled in his arms with their son resting on her chest and her daughter cuddled close and hearing him whispering that she best get better "because our children need their mother, I need my wife, and Downton needs its Countess."_

The carriage came to a stop and Richard stepped out. There was light in some of the windows, so it looked as if someone in the house had waited for him. He mind was still sifting through memories as he made his way inside. The London butler, Lesley, took his coat, hat and gloves and then Richard went into his study. He poured himself a whiskey and sat lost in thought.

_If it hadn't been for Violet's illness and his new son's frailty, his handling of his father's death would've raised eyebrows. They had followed the protocol, of course, but that was all. Richard found it fitting that his father, who had always focused so much on how thing seemed to others, had been mourned mostly for appearances' sake. Richard's focus had been the health of his son and his wife and all of his free time had been spent with them and his daughter who was plagued by nightmares about losing her family. The baby had also seemed to need the presence of his parents even with all the nurses and nannies he had hovering over him. One day he just wouldn't stop crying. Hours passed and the child had howled inconsolably. Rosamund had snuck out of the nursery to inform her father and insisted he visit the baby whom she had practically taken ownership of and referred to as her "best ever present". When Richard had finally picked him up, little Robert quieted, so Richard and the ever-watchful Rosamund had taken the new heir on a tour of the house that would one day be his. Richard told his children about the paintings and the people in them and introduced some of the staff - whomever he happened to see around - to his little boy who was now very happy in his father's arms. _

_Violet and Richard had been uncommonly involved parents. Him because he associated distance with his father and refused to put his children through the type of childhood he'd endured and her because the doctor had told her she would most likely never have another baby. That knowledge had made her treasure the children she had all the more. Richard was a true child at heart and he'd built kites, commissioned a simply glorious tree house, bought plenty of wonderful toys, and played with them right along side his children. Violet, while much more adherent to society's rules, nevertheless always made time to spend with her children every day and would pop into the nursery whenever she had the opportunity. Rosamund grew into quite the accomplished young society lady and Robert became his father's shadow. If Richard went into town, Robert was right behind him. If Richard had friends over, the whole of the nursery staff had to be on watch to be sure that Robert didn't sneak out to join the gentlemen as they socialized, especially once Rosamund had grown out of the nursery and begun taking part in these events with her parents. On one occasion when he'd been successful at evading his nanny, the precocious Robert had wandered into the library after his parents had hosted a dinner party for a very influential member of the House of Lords and all the men were gathered there in conversation. No one knew what to make of the seven year old as he climbed into a big wingback chair dressed in his best clothes, sighed, and folded his hands in his lap. "Did you see the Times today?" he asked just as his father always did. "It's unbelievable!" _

_The gentlemen all burst out laughing. "A tray of chocolate biscuits and a glass of milk for the young viscount," the guest of honor said. "He and I must discuss the affairs of the world." Richard brimmed with pride and, after Richard put his son to bed, both he and his wife were showered with praise for their children by their guests. _

_He and Violet had changed so much at Downton Abbey. Richard had brought some sense to the expense accounts and developed far more efficient operating procedures. He was by no means miserly, but his personal taste and his preferred life as a family man rather than a social climber did away with a lot of the excesses his parents had lived for. He allowed staff numbers to fall by attrition to a level that served the families needs and was not overly burdensome to the servants, but which saved money and provided a more close knit atmosphere that he felt benefitted the children. The family treated the servants with dignity and kindness and were generally well respected by them in return. Richard and Violet had also set about repairing the family's image with townsfolk as well. This effort was helped greatly by Richard's daily walks into the village, usually in the company of his little boy. Even so there were two things he had not succeeded in fixing. One was the financial mess. He had tried his hardest, but, combined with the fall of prices of agricultural products and new taxes, it had still proved to be imperative that Robert marry someone of considerable wealth to keep the estate solvent. The other was Violet's entrenched classism. For all of her redeeming qualities, she could be very harsh if she felt someone who was 'beneath her' was pushing their way into her life. It was especially evident in her dealings with her children's spouses._

_Marmaduke Painswick was not an aristocrat, but a wealthy banker. His lack of noble status had irked Violet from the start, but she had not been able to deny her daughter both the happiness he bought her and the financial security he provided for her given their family's own money problems and had grudgingly accepted their match, though he was still always a target for her comments - that is, when she ran out of things to say about her new daughter-in-law. _

_Cora brought out the worst in his wife's character. It wasn't just that she, too, was common, or even that she was American that had turned Violet so firmly against her, it was that Robert had not married for love and that no one had consulted Violet at all about the match much before it had been made. She had not wanted an arranged marriage for either of her children, but if there had to be one, she had wanted to be involved to try to make sure her boy was as happy as could be expected. Instead she had been left home alone for months while Robert and Richard went to America and then London and it was only at the end of the Season that she'd even set eyes on the woman that her son was nearly engaged to when they'd brought her to Downton - Violet's Downton - without even asking her first. It was no wonder she resented the girl, but Richard wished she wouldn't be so cruel about it. After all, it was hardly poor Cora's fault and he couldn't help but think that, had they met under different circumstances, Robert and Cora might have come together on their own._

Richard sighed and drained his glass. He yawned and looked at the clock. It was almost two in the morning. He yawned again and made his way up the stairs. He was shocked by what he found at the top. His wife was seated in the window seat of the large window opposite the staircase leaning against the window fast asleep. Her ladies maid, Maggie, was just about to cover her with a blanket when Richard stopped her. "It's too cold for her out here. I'll carry her to bed." He gathered Violet up in his arms and she snuggled into his neck as he carried her to the bedroom they usually shared. He could feel how cold she was and held her tight. Maggie opened the door for him and turned down Her Ladyship's bed. She quickly removed the ornaments from Violet's hair before Richard gently laid his wife down in the bed. She shivered as she left his embrace. He took off his dress coat and tucked it carefully around her before pulling the blankets up over her. He pressed a kiss to her forehead and whispered a goodnight to her and then he and the maid left the room.

After Richard had undressed and put on pajamas, he climbed into the bed in his dressing room. It had been ages since he'd last slept alone and his mind wandered to Robert complaining after his injury about how cold and uncomfortable the bed in his dressing room was. He had to concur. Sleeping alone was miserable, but he thought waking Violet after she'd been up all night was unkind. He was starting to think that leaving her alone the way he had had perhaps been a bit heavy handed of him. Had he known she'd wait for him all night, he would have come home earlier. He rolled onto his side and began to give in to sleep. No sooner had he closed his eyes when he felt a familiar presence in bed behind him and a small hand come to rest on his chest. He could hear her soft crying as she leaned into his shoulder. "Violet, darling, whatever is the matter?" he asked groggily. He rolled onto his back and she immediately cuddled close. In the light of the candle she'd brought and set on the nightstand he could see that she was still fully dressed apart from shoes. Her hard, steel-boned corset was no where near as delightful to caress as Violet was in her usual nightwear, but he dared not push her away.

"I missed you, Richard," she whimper softly. "I'm so sorry for the way I behaved. Please forgive me." She wouldn't meet his gaze as the tears dripped from her cheeks. He hadn't seen her like this in so many years and it hurt him to think that he'd done this to her.

"I missed you too, my love," he said gently as he rubbed her back soothingly. "I thought about you all night. Even if I hadn't, Rosamund wouldn't have let me forget about you."

Violet finally looked up at him. "Rosamund? You were at Rosamund's?" she asked.

"Yes, where did you think I would be?" he asked reaching up to dry her tears.

"I didn't know," she said looking down again, "… and I didn't think it was my place to ask. All you said was that you had some business to attend to."

Richard figured out what she was hinting at and he hugged her. "Oh, my darling girl," he said as he kissed her forehead, "… it would take far more than your sharply worded gossiping to make me stray. Is that what kept you up all night?" he asked as he kissed her again.

She shook her head. "No, I was thinking about how angry I made you this afternoon, and what I said," she paused and looked into his eyes, clearly deeply wounded, "… and what you said." She reached for the hand he had resting on his stomach and held it gently. "I am sorry, Richard."

He lay quiet for a moment recalling his words and how much they must have hurt her. "Oh, Violet, you know I didn't mean it that way."

Violet looked at him. "Are you sure?" For all her icy words, his Violet was very easily hurt. It would take more than a few words that night to make this right and it was too late for long conversations. "It's warmer in my bedroom," she said as she stood and went to the door. "Come to bed." He followed her without bothering with his dressing gown. Without a word he started to unbutton her dress and help her unpin her hair. He freed her from her corset but didn't bother trying to remove her underclothes. He didn't feel like he should after what he'd said that afternoon. They got into bed together and Violet blew out the candle. "Goodnight, Richard, I'm glad you came home to me," she said in the dark.

"Goodnight, my love," he said feeling very guilty. "… and as long as I live, I'll always come home to you." He pulled her close and kissed the top of her head. "I'm so sorry, Violet," he said.

"I'm sorry, too," she said thankful that he couldn't see her tears. "I love you," she murmured softly.

His lips found hers in the darkness and he kissed her tenderly. He wished his lips could repair what his words had broken. "I love you too," he whispered. "I love you so very much."

* * *

><p>AN - Robert and Cora will be back in the next chapter, I promise.


	26. Affection and Intuition

Robert tried to calm his nerves as his valet, Watson, brushed the shoulders of his jacket. After the valet had been dismissed, he sighed and leaned against the window frame and gazed out over the countryside. He looked as if the world itself rested on his shoulders and, at least if one considered that Downton was his world, perhaps it was in a way.

He'd interviewed two potential butlers the day before, but it still made him anxious. He had seen his father go through the process of filing vacant positions before, and, even though he knew that fact should provide him comfort that he was not in completely unknown territory, it actually made him more uneasy. He couldn't stop thinking about how much better his father was at running the house than he was and that, one day, his father would be gone and the person Downton would have to turn to to keep the house and indeed the entire community from falling into chaos was him. He closed his eyes and silently wished his father many, many years of the very best health.

Cora watched him unseen from the door that led to the bedroom. It certainly was unseemly for a lady to go sneaking into her husband's dressing room, but she didn't care. She moved quietly to his side. He jumped and turned quickly when he felt her hand brush across his shoulders and she tried not to look hurt that her presence was still such a surprise to him. She laid her head on his chest and wrapped her arms around him. She sighed and nuzzled his neck as she clung to him and the thoughts of his father melted from his mind.

Robert was often surprised by the openness with which his wife displayed affection. He was convinced it was an American trait. To be sure, there were daring, provocative, English women and even he had his moments when the idea of being caught only added to the thrill of whatever he and Cora were up to at the time, but Cora's actions weren't anything basely sexual, they were just honest. If she felt like holding his hand, and they were at home with no company, she would regardless of whether his parents were around. His father, ever the optimist and the romantic, always encouraged her. His mother usually tried to ignore the impropriety, but never rebuked her for her demonstrative nature. His mind was jolted back to the present when Cora pressed herself more firmly against the length of his body. He wasn't so sure about the purity of her motives anymore. "Cora," he said with obvious discomfort, "what are you doing."

His wife looked up at him sweetly. "I don't like to see you nervous like this, my darling husband," she said as she snuggled into him and tightened her hold on him.

He squirmed and tried to put some distance between them. He could've been mistaken, but he thought she looked disappointed when he pushed her away from him. "Having you so close would have given me something else to worry about," he said taking a breath to try to compose himself.

"Robert!" Cora gasped. "I was only trying to comfort you! I never intended..."

"I don't think we've ever been that close while we were still dressed before," he said. Even as he was trying to cool his desire for her, he wasn't quite sure he wanted to.

She still looked flustered and a rosy blush stained her cheeks. "You're dirty-minded, Robert Crawley," she said with a huff and turned to leave.

He gave into his yerning for Cora. He grabbed her hand and pulled her back into his embrace. "You're captivating," he whispered. They made their way to the bed and lost themselves in kisses, each one sweeter than the last.

When they reached the point when they could no longer delay going downstairs. Cora watched Robert glance over the resume and references he'd been supplied with one final time. "What's his name?" she asked.

"Charles Carson," he said not looking up from the page.

"That's a good name for an English butler," she said and giggled when he looked up at her both surprised and amused.

"How would an American know what a good name for a British butler is?" he asked with a smile as the two got up and hastily straightened their clothes and hair.

Cora helped Robert with his tie and he once again struck by her beauty as well as her devotion. "There's just something about an English butler named Carson that sounds right," she said as she fastened his tie tack. "Call it an 'American's Intuition'."

He chuckled. "Well, I hope Americans know more about butlers than they do about tea."

"I'm never going to hear the end of that, am I?" Cora asked with a smirk.

"Never," he replied. She swatted his arm playfully as they left his dressing room together. "Enjoy your flowers," he said as they walked down the stairs.

"I suppose I have to have something to show for myself when your parents return this evening," she sighed.

"As do I, my dear," Robert said. They were about to go their separate ways when he took her hand. "Cora, please don't feel the need to hide in the hallway like you did during the last two interviews. In fact, a little American intuition might come in handy." He said softly. There was a look in his eyes that she couldn't quite place, but it still made the color rise in her cheeks.

"What about you mother?" Cora said trying not to read too much into his gaze. There was no reason to get her hopes up about the possibility that her love might not be as unrequited as she thought.

"She doesn't need to know," he whispered into her ear as he pulled her closer. "I need you, Cora," he murmured softly before surprising her by kissing her in the middle of the main hall before going off to the library to await this latest applicant.

* * *

><p>AN - This chapter is the result - or the fault - of a reader, antigone's, gentle push to keep going. I'm having trouble fitting some pieces together nicely so I broke this segment one off as an independent chapter and an offering of fluff while I sort out the rest of this next series of events so you all don't stop reading this.


	27. The Cora Test

A/N - Ok, so these little segments simply refuse to become one chapter, so you'll have to bear with them as they are. Sorry.

* * *

><p>Robert eyed this Charles Carson fellow as he pretended to be reading over the man's resumé and references. He'd actually gone over them several times and memorized the questions he wanted to ask. If he had put half as much effort into his university science courses, his father would've certainly had the academic star he'd hoped for. Though he wasn't all that much older than Robert was, he seemed worlds more mature. His mother might not be too happy about having a young butler, but Robert had confidence that, dispute his age, this Mr. Carson had the necessary gravitas for the position and he was certain that this man could reign in the ambitious footmen and get things relatively under control before his parents arrived that evening. His references were superb. The only reason he was out of work at all was because the Everetts had had to sell one of their estates and he had been the butler with the least seniority. "I can't help but notice the employment gap between your time in the military and your first job in service. I feel I'd be remiss if I didn't ask you about it." Robert finally said.<p>

The would-be butler's face revealed nothing and his voice was matter of fact as he explained. "I had hopes of a career in the military, but after fighting in Africa and seeing the effects of the famines in India, I realized it was not my calling. My parents were ill at the time as well and they needed me home, so I went home once I was discharged. They both died within months of each other - my father in late December and my mother in early February - and, as their only surviving child, I found myself alone in the world." Just for a moment a look of grief passed over his face. He corrected this almost immediately. "It took me time to find my way, but I never stopped doing honest work. I worked in shops and did other odd jobs. I was working in a haberdashery when I was offered a position as a footman in the home of Mr. and Mrs. Gordon Wellis. My career in service began from there."

Robert was very impressed with this stern looking man who sat rail straight in his seat across from the young viscount. He had good look for a butler and was very proper. Beyond that, Robert though he could work well with him and possibly come to like him. All Charles Carson had to do was pass one last test - the Cora test. Robert wanted to see how this younger-than-average butler handled himself in the presence of his unusually attractive, young wife. She had already been the cause of one dismissal. When she'd first arrived, he'd caught one of the footmen trying to look up her skirt while she stood on the stairs talking to his sister, oblivious to the servant's actions until Robert came over and made a scene before taking Cora into his arms protectively. It had been their first real embrace and he could still remember how surprised he'd been to feel her tentatively snuggle into his chest as he'd held her. In the back of his mind, there was also a concern that his unusually attractive, young wife might find this dark-haired, dark-eyed, deep-voiced, fitter, more mature, dutifully obliging man more appealing than her sandy-haired, emotionally repressed, romantically bumbling, less-than-hard-bodied husband of convenience. It would break his heart to see her affections directed toward anyone but him.

As if on cue, Cora entered the library carrying a large vase and followed by a maid with a large bundle of flowers and foliage. "I hope I'm not interrupting, but I wanted to arrange the flowers for this room before your parents arrival," she said as she walked in. He wondered if she realized that her mere presence in a room made his heart beat fast. He was beginning to realize that, when he told her he adored her, it wasn't just a way to avoid the word 'love' until he'd set up the perfect moment to tell her. It was the truth. He actually did adore her.

"Not at all," Robert said as he shifted in his seat to get a better view of her as she walked toward a table on the other side of the room by the window. Mr. Carson noticed the way his prospective employer was staring at this extremely pretty, clearly foreign woman and he did his best to ignore it. A first he thought she could be the man's mistress given the way he was leering at her, but then he remember what Dr. Lennox had told him on the way to the estate. He'd mentioned that Robert Crawley, the heir to Downton, had gotten married less than a year before to and American buccaneer. Judging by her accent, this was the girl. Carson kept his eyes on a painting across the room. It would do no good to be caught staring at the wife of the man he hoped would hire him no matter how lovely she was.

Just then the heel of Cora's shoe caught on the edge of the rug and she tripped. The vase of water she'd been carrying - a priceless heirloom like so many other things in the house - slipped from her hands as she fell forward. Robert was up in an instant to catch her and hold her tightly. She nestled into the embrace. "My knight in shining armor," she said smiling up at him.

It took him I moment to realize that he'd never heard the vase crash to the ground. He forced himself to look away from Cora and was stunned by what he saw. "Carson?" he asked.

Mr. Carson was dripping wet. In his hands was the vase. "Where would you like this?" he asked calmly.

Robert pointed to the table and Carson placed the vase on it after wiping it dry with a handkerchief. "Carson," Robert said, "you're hired - pending my father's approval, of course."

"Thank you, My Lord," Carson said with the slightest hint of a smile.

After the butler had sent word to Dr. Lennox for his things and was touring the servant's quarters with the housekeeper, cook, and Robert's valet and the young couple was left alone, Cora kissed her husband and gave him big hug. "You were wonderful, Robert. I'm so proud of you."

Robert smiled. "We should celebrate," he suggested.

"Oh," Cora said coyly. "What did you have in mind, darling?"

"Well," he said as his arm snaked around her small waist, "we only have a few more hours alone. I think we should make the most of them."


	28. Their Hearts and Their Home

Richard gazed out the window of the first class car and watched the scenery move by. He and Violet were finally going home and he hoped that the return to Downton would help smooth things over between them. Violet's feelings were still hurt over his remark at tea a few days before and, worse yet, it was now circulating through the society gossip circles that the Crawley marriage might have lost its spark. Whatever progress he had made with her had been crushed by the knowledge that she was now a topic of rumors and she'd become distant. This estrangement was torturous for him and he'd been missing her terribly.

He looked across the cabin at her and smiled as he watched her sleeping peacefully. The train ride always put her to sleep. He got up and gently took off her hat and then moved her gently so he could slip into the seat beside her and hold her. He settled into the corner and moved so his back was partially against the wall she'd been proper up against and she was leaning into his chest instead. Granted, one could argue that if she had wanted to sleep leaning into his embrace as opposed the wall of their cabin, she would've sat next to him to begin with, but Richard figured that improving her comfort was merely the gentlemanly thing to do. Technically speaking, it was stretching the term 'gentlemanly' a bit considering he'd unbuttoned his coat and pulled it around her and was gently kissing her forehead, but that was his rationalization and he chose to stay with it even as one of his hands slid down from her waist and came to rest on her hip. He softly began to hum a song he'd used to sing to her before they were married and she cuddled closer into him. After he'd finished the second verse, much to his surprise, Violet quietly sang the chorus as he hummed it. Once she finished, she looked up at him. "You haven't sung to me in years," she said.

"I suppose I'm out of practice," he said smiling down at her. "I didn't know I'd woken you. I was trying so hard not to."

Violet gave a gentle smile. "I've been awake ever since you came over here and jostled me about. Honestly, how heavy a sleeper do you think I am?"

Richard looked shocked and a little embarrassed. "You've always been a very heavy sleeper, haven't you?" he asked thinking back to some of the things he'd done in the recent past to awaken his supposedly sleeping wife.

Violet smiled wickedly. "Not as much as I've led you to believe. I've been awake for far more of your romantic attentions than you realize." She chuckled at his stunned expression. "Don't be upset. I never denied you, did I?"

Richard was still gobsmacked. "But why did you make me wait like that?" he asked.

"Because I liked what you were doing to me," she whispered into his ear, "and I like feeling desired." She was still hurting from his words and the who incident had damaged her confidence in her ability to hold her husband's interest romantically as well. Just the fact that she had believed he'd gone to another woman when he'd left her alone for the evening was enough to shake her. She couldn't heal the injury he'd inflicted upon her heart on that train, but she could give her confidence a much needed boost. She looked into the eyes of her very confused husband. "Is the gossip true?" she asked. "Have your feelings toward me gone cold all because I'm not great friends with Robert's foreign wife?"

"Oh, Violet," Richard said trying to figure out where to even begin, "I feel the same way about you as I have for years. I don't think you're very fair to our Cora and that you treat her too harshly, but I love you just as passionately as I ever have. I haven't 'gone cold' in the least."

"Show me," she said quietly.

"What? Here? Now?" Richard asked. He couldn't deny that the idea did excite him. "What, exactly, do you have in mind?" Violet didn't want to waste time explaining and she silenced his questions with an intense kiss. They were wrapped in each other's arms kissing when the young man with the tea cart opened the door and interrupted them. They sat up quickly as the poor fellow stammered something about hot tea.

"No, thank you," Violet said blushing.

"We're quite warm enough," Richard said with a grin. The young man couldn't get away from them fast enough and the couple was left alone in silence.

"We shouldn't have done this," Violet said smoothing down her skirt and avoiding eye contact with her husband. "What will people say?"

"Well, they won't say that our marriage has lost its passion anymore," Richard said as he wrapped his arms around Violet's waist. They cuddled close and slowly, with plenty of coaxing from Richard, he and Violet began to kiss again. For the first time in nearly a week, Violet was able to put Richard's painful comment out of her mind. "I love you," he whispered to her.

* * *

><p>As the house came into view both Richard and Violet couldn't help but smile. They were both eager to get back to the house that felt most like home to them and to see their son. As soon as the footman opened the door, she was hurrying Richard along so he could help her out of the carriage. She rushed to her son. He gave her a hug and they talked for a moment before Richard took his turn and Violet found herself face to face with her daughter-in-law. "Welcome back," Cora said with a touch of trepidation in her voice. Both Robert and his father waited for Violet's reaction.<p>

Violet gave the young woman the usual hug and kiss on the cheek society ladies gave each other. "I'm so glad to be back," she said with a genuine smile, "I do believe I may have missed you a little, my dear." Cora beamed and Robert gave his mother another hug and they started to come in from the cold. As she made her way inside, Violet caught sight of Carson standing at attention by the door. "Who is that?" she murmured to her son.

Robert chuckled. "Oh, that's Carson, the butler."

"He wasn't employed here when we left, was he?" she asked with a tone of concern.

"No, Mama, he's new here." Robert said.

Violet gave a sigh of relief. "I though so, but at my age sometimes one needs a second opinion."

Richard stood behind his wife and whispered in her ear. "You're only as young as you feel," he said and gave her a quick kiss on the cheek. Robert made a face and went to talk with his wife, leaving his parents to their own devices.


	29. The War of the Roses

Violet had managed not to mention Cora's flower arrangements for an entire day and a half before she couldn't take it anymore. "What was she thinking, Richard?" Lady Grantham hissed as she sat in the drawing room embroidering as her husband read his morning paper after breakfast as usual.

"What has Cora done now?" her husband asked not looking up from his paper.

Violet looked stunned that he even had to ask. "Haven't you seen the flowers? I mean honestly, Richard, you should take more notice of these details." She pretended not to notice him rolling his eyes and smirking. "All those gaudy red roses in the middle of the Christmas decorations?"

Richard looked over his shoulder at the arrangement on the piano. "She's a young girl in love. Of course she's putting red roses all over the house. I actually think the flowers are very nice myself. I think a few roses sprinkled among the holly and ivy and evergreen boughs is a nice touch for a house where a couple is spending their first Christmas together."

Violet gave a huff. "You and your silly romantic notions."

"They've served us well for all these years," Richard said folding his paper and moving to sit beside his wife. They had fallen back into their usual routines very quickly, but there was still a barrier between them that Richard was desperate to break through. He could feel his wife tense as he sat close beside her and gently stoked her neck with his finger. "My 'silly romantic notions' used to have quite an effect on you." He leaned in to kiss her neck and put his hand on her knee.

She practically leapt out of her seat when his fingers slid between her legs and began to trail up her thigh. "Well, I won't have it looking like Cupid's run amok," she said sounding almost ready to cry. Richard sighed as he watched her rush out of the room and he became determined to sort things out with her by the end of that day. Slowly he got up and to find her. He didn't have to go far. He found her rearranging the large floral display in the main hall and removing all of its roses. "There, that's better," she said as she pulled the last rose from the vase and added it to the pile of lovely blooms lying beside it.

Richard went to her shaking his head. "Violet, you should have left Cora's flowers alone." Violet ignored him and headed for the library. "She worked hard on all of this and she's done a beautiful job. This will only hurt her feelings," Richard called after his wife. He put his hand over hers when she took hold of the doorknob. "Don't wound that girl. She's done nothing to deserve it."

"I am still the lady of this house, Richard, and I want it looking its best when our daughter arrives this afternoon. I want everything to be as it should be - a proper English Christmas," she said as she pushed him back and went into the library where she stumbled upon quite an improper scene indeed - her son lying on a sofa with his American wife pinned beneath him squirming and sighing as he kissed her neck and collarbone.

Violet and Cora both shrieked and Robert paled. He quickly removed one hand from under the sea of frilly, full petticoats Cora wore and his other hand from beneath his blushing, breathless wife. "Mama," Robert said as he tried to straighten his clothes before holding his hands in his lap, "It's not what it looks like."

"No," Violet gasped as she watched Cora, still breathing heavily, slowly sit up and try to tug down her skirt with a shaking hand, "it seems like more than what I'd originally thought it was." She was flushed, though no one in the room could tell if it was from embarrassment or anger.

"We didn't hear you knock," he said weakly.

"This is the library!" Violet snapped, "I shouldn't have to knock before entering our library! For heaven's sake, it's eleven o'clock in the morning, Robert!" She tried to ignore the fact that her son was sitting between his wife's legs. "This will not happen again," she said firmly. "What is this family coming to?"

Richard met her as she left the room. "I take it the library was occupied," he said with the faints of smiles playing on his lips.

"You need to speak to your exhibitionist son before our company arrives, or he and that American will be the talk of society for all the wrong reasons," she grumbled as she went up to her room to collect herself.

Richard sat in a comfortable chair and waited for his son and daughter-in-law to appear. When they did, he took his son aside. "What were you thinking?" he said firmly. "I'm glad you and Cora are... are getting along, but this foolishness has to stop."

"I'm sorry, Papa. We didn't intend for it to happen, I swear," Robert pleaded. "We were kissing and then I leaned forward and she leaned back and…"

Richard held up a hand. "I don't want the particulars, just make sure this is the last time we have to have this conversation," he said and then gestured to Cora, ", because we know who'll be blamed. Remember, you aren't alone in the house anymore." he shook his head at his son."We'll talk again before dinner, my boy, but right now I some business to take care of," he said with a sneaky smile.

"Yes, Papa," Robert said staring at his feet as his father took his leave. He'd never been so embarrassed in his life. He looked up and saw Cora standing in front of the flower arrangement she'd agonized over the day her in-laws returned. He noticed her shoulders trembling. "Cora, what's wrong?"

"She ruined it," Cora sniffled as she fingered the heap of roses that had been yanked from her arrangement. "I tried so hard." Robert stood behind her and wrapped his arms around her middle. "I'll never be able to please her," Cora said as she turned around to settle against Robert's chest.

Seeing what his mother had done to the display Cora had been most proud of irked him. She'd gone out of her way to upset Cora. "Why not put them back?" he asked as he held her tight. "I thought your flowers were perfect." Robert had to leave to go and take care of something he wouldn't go into detail about, but his words had both soothed her and bolstered her courage and she'd soon returned the roses to their rightful place in the vase.

Robert walked quickly throughout the cold, damp morning. He hoped the gardener had what he was looking for because he wasn't sure he would be able to buy it in the village without raising eyebrows at the very least. As he approached the greenhouse, he met up with his father who was on his way back to the house. "A good day for a walk," Richard said warmly.

"Yes," Robert agreed, ", a fine morning for it." He reached the greenhouse and found the gardener. After searching for the least embarrassing way to ask his question, he finally just came out with it. "Do you have any mistletoe?" The older man smiled knowingly as he clipped him a sprig and thought to himself how alike Richard and Robert were.

Just before luncheon, Violet was passing through the main hall when the flower display she'd altered caught her eye. The roses had been replaced. The Countess gave an indignant huff and set about pulling them all out again.

After luncheon, when Violet had gone off to visit a friend and both Robert and Richard had disappeared after muttering something about things they had to do, Cora was on her way upstairs when she noticed a maid carrying a bundle of roses. "Where did those come from?" she asked.

"Lady Gratham took them out of that large arrangement, M'lady," the girl said nervously.

Cora scowled. "Give them to me," she insisted. "It's my work and it should look the way I want it to."

A few hours later, the whole household was turned out to welcome Rosamund and Maraduke for their Christmas visit. As the family entered the main hall, and Rosamund was being helped out of her coat, she noticed the flowers. "Oh Mama, what a lovely arrangement!" Violet turned to face the vase and was noticeably surprised to find the red roses she'd removed from the display twice had returned again. She sighed. "I'm glad you like it, my dear, but the credit should go to Cora. It's her creation."

Cora smiled. "Thank you, Lady Grantham," she said happily.

"Credit where credit is due," Violet said calmly. "You worked so diligently."

Cora kept smiling and even the corners of Violet's mouth curled a little, but it wasn't due to her daughter-in-law's happiness or even her son's pride in his wife. Richard was also smiling and that made those roses much more tolerable.

* * *

><p>Before they had to dress for dinner Richard asked Robert and Marmaduke to come to his study. The topic of discussion was the upcoming visit of one Melissa Hawthorne née Beaumont, her intentions, and how best to handle what would not doubt be a very volatile situation. "Does Cora know about this?" Richard asked.<p>

"No," Robert said sharply. "There's no reason she has to know. That's all in the past."

Marmaduke stroked his mustache. "Well, clearly Melissa doesn't see it that way. He's making no secret of her hopes for an affair. Eventually, it will get back to Cora. If you talk to her first, the two of you can work out whatever agreement will best accommodate both of your needs."

Robert bristled. "We don't need any 'agreement'. We love each other."

Richard was pleased to hear this from his son, but Marmaduke stayed serious. "You're sure?"

"Yes," Robert said as he felt the anger building within him.

Marmaduke raised an eyebrow. "You're convinced she loves you?"

"She told me she does," Robert insisted, "and I love her."

Richard clapped "That's wonderful! Excellent! I'm so happy for you." he said cheerfully.

"Have you told her?" Marmaduke asked.

"Not yet," Robert growled.

The gentlemen kept talking until the dressing gong rang. Robert practically bolted out of the room, but Richard called to him before he was able to get far enough away to ignore his father without being rude. "Robert, please tell that lovely, sweet, charming wife of yours that you love her so that we can all get on with our lives,"

Robert rushed up the stairs, into his dressing room and then into the bedroom. He was pleased to see that he'd gotten there before Cora. Carefully he managed to hang the sprig of mistletoe he'd picked up earlier from the headboard of the bed and smiled as he thought about what he planned to do under that mistletoe later that night. He was pleased with his stroke of romantic genius. as his slipped back into his dressing room as he heard the ladies making their way upstairs.

Violet exhaled deeply once the door to her bedroom closed behind her. She loved her daughter, but sometimes she could be very trying. Then there was Cora to deal with. She was a nice enough girl, for an American, but she still wasn't the daughter-in-law Violet had wanted. Even in the best of times, she found the yuletide festivities exhausting and now she had this colonial running around putting roses everywhere and doing 'heaven-knows-what' with her son in every room in their house. Violet lay down on her bed with a sigh for a few moments of peace before dressing for dinner. Something caught her eye and, when she looked closer, she chuckled. "You and your silly romantic notions," she said as she noticed the door to her husband's dressing room was open just a crack. Richard walked in slowly as she lay on the bed smiling at him. "Are you going to keep me waiting under the mistletoe," she asked coyly.

"Absolutely not," he said in a tone that made Violet's heart rate quicken. "You know how I enjoy my silly romantic notions," he said as he laid down beside her and claimed her lips in a loving kiss.


	30. The Perfect Gift

To Light a Fire

"Mama, you're absolutely wonderful!" Rosamund exclaimed in a most undignified way at luncheon on her first full day back at her old home. "How on earth did you manage it? What a perfect gift!"

"While this may be hard for you to believe, some people actually find me charming." Violet said with a smug smile. She ignored Rosamund's stifled laughter. She was too preoccupied by the smile Richard was giving her from across the table. He was still oblivious as to exactly what about his comment had hurt her most deeply, but his sweetness had been slowly smoothing things over with her as the days passed. She smiled back at him, but not quite as brightly as she usually did. She just couldn't manage it yet.

"Charles Worth is a businessman and he knows an opportunity when he sees one. This weather has him stuck in London, so he might as well make the most of it," Richard said with a twinkle in his eye. "Besides, I think he finds my wife attractive."

Violet blushed demurely and shook her head. "He wasn't ready to rush out here on my account. It was the prospect of dressing Cora that perked his interest." Violet said without looking at her daughter-in-law.

"Me?" Cora asked stunned. "Why would he be so interested in dressing me?"

Violet continued to avoid her daughter-in-law's questioning gaze. "He likes the company of good looking women." Cora looked both embarrassed and puzzled. "I mentioned that Robert's new wife was pretty and he wanted to come and see for himself." Even without looking, she could tell Cora was smiling.

Richard couldn't have been more pleased to see his wife starting to acclimate to life with an American daughter-in-law. "I believe the phrase you used was actually 'an incomparable beauty'," he said. "He had heard similar statements and was anxious to find out whether the rumors were true."

Robert, meanwhile, was not at all amused. "Why is everyone so surprised that I married a beautiful woman?" he huffed.

"Because they usually prefer handsome men, Robert," Rosamund snipped. Her brother gave her a look.

He grumbled something back at his sister oblivious to Cora's delight at hearing her husband refer to her as 'beautiful' out loud and to others so easily. He said it as if he were stating a fact rather than trying to convince them to agree. She had all she could do not to hop up and kiss him. The only thing keeping her from doing so was the memory of Violet walking in on them in the library the day before when they were in a world of their own and well beyond the bounds of decent behavior. Technically, it was Robert who had been out of line - Cora had merely been the receiver of the romantic ministrations and had barely been able to keep her wits about her let alone protest the impropriety - but she doubted that Violet would make the same distinction. Robert finally noticed his wife smiling lovingly at him. "Why are you looking at me like that?" he asked nervously.

"Because I think you're wonderful, darling," Cora cooed softly.

Robert straightened his posture and looked very proud indeed. "That's why I have such an exquisite wife," he told his sister teasingly. "I'm wonderful." Rosamund made a face and everyone at the table chuckled as Cora took her husband's hand under the table and held it tightly. His surprised expression was met by her gentle smile.

"You are, Robert," she whispered and hoped that one day he might find her even one tenth as wonderful as she found him to be.

Charles Fredrick Worth was a very astute businessman indeed and was making the most of being detained in England due to weather by getting a few projects to work on and had contacted a couple individuals who had been especially good to him in the past. One of these people had been Lord Grantham. Richard had been a key financial backer in the early days of the House of Worth and his lovely wife a favorite client of his with her sharp wit, beautiful auburn hair, and those perfect curves. The Countess' absolute devotion to her husband was well known in society - It was rumored that they still slept together every night, though he found that hard to believe given her firm belief in the rigid social customs of the day - but Charles could still dream and he often did. She was an extremely attractive woman after all. Her daughter, now married to a Mr. Marmaduke Painswick, was also lovely and possessed her mother's gift for biting words. And now there was apparently another lovely woman inhabiting Downton Abbey, the Violet's son's new American bride. He knew she must be quite an exceptional girl because the Countess was not one known to take to foreigners very well.

He adjusted his beret and fiddled with his rather flamboyant coat as he glanced out the window at the gloomy, grey sky crossly. He preferred to make his introductions in sunshine. Mr Worth was a businessman, but he was also a bit of a showman, especially when it would help him make a sale. His attire and meticulously crafted accent were all part of the persona he had built up for himself as the head and namesake of the ultra-chic House of Worth. So were the gently flirtatious comments he'd make to the ladies. It was never anything too scandalous, their powerful and influential husbands were the ones supporting his comfortable lifestyle after all, but it never hurt to make "his ladies" feel a little more attractive when they were making their selections.

He was greeted with great fanfare by Lady Grantham and her daughter. Lord Grantham and his son-in-law were waiting in the main hall along with the Viscount Downton and the new American viscountess. She was just as beautiful as she'd been rumored to be if not more so, but one thing he'd heard was obviously false - the viscount was clearly interested in far more that whatever her fortune had been as he took her hand as she stood. He held it longer than was necessary, but none of the family remarked upon it and Mr. Worth was the last person in the world to do anything to stifle young love. Richard introduced them and the designer made quite a show of kissing the young woman's hand. Whether or not her husband had intended to make as much of a show of his displeasure at that action as he had was unclear, but his poorly concealed scowl made most in the room smile. Lord Grantham, who was either unable or unwilling to hold back his laughter, guffawed and clapped his son on the shoulder. "Come, come. Let's leave the ladies to create yet more bills for us."

An hour later Robert was in his dressing room bored and unusually lonely. He couldn't figure out when he'd become so dependent on Cora's company. After his injury perhaps, or maybe it was their time running the house on their own that had done it. All he knew was that now he spent more and more of his afternoons with Cora and he much preferred it that way. Even if they were just sitting in the same room together engrossed in their own activities, he was much happier. Presently some silly, foppish tailor had stolen her away from him and now he had no idea what to do with himself. It was too cold to go out and he'd given up on playing cards with his father and brother-in-law after his third straight loss. He just couldn't focus. He flopped down onto his bed and listened to the rustling and muffled conversation from the bedroom. His jaw tightened at Mr. Worth's comments to his wife. He forced himself to remain on the bed as he listened to the designer compliment his wife's figure over and over again. The mention of her 'perfect bosom' coupled with Cora saying his hands were cold was the last straw for Robert. He leapt off the bed and was about to barg in on his wife's dress fitting and risk her wrath when he remembered that the door had a keyhole. Throwing propriety to the wind, he crouched down and peered through into his wife's bedroom. She was in her underclothes and Mr. Worth was measuring her quite thoroughly. Robert watched him closely as he slipped the measuring tape around Cora's hips and bottom. He slid his finger underneath it and skimmed over her bottom to straighten the tape and making Cora gasp and squirm at his touch. Robert's fist clinch. He thought the man's hands lingered on her far too long and he was about to go in and give Mr. Worth a piece of his mind when the was a very brief knock at the door and, before he could move, his father walked in and found him in position by the keyhole. "Robert Crawley, what on earth are you doing?" Richard asked barely containing his amusement.

His son smiled goofily. "This isn't as bad as it looks," he insisted. "I was just…"

Richard shook his head. "After your exhibition in the library yesterday, I don't think I want to know. I just wanted to remind you that your cousin James is going to be arriving on Friday and he's bring his wife and son Patrick. Your mother wanted me to remind you in light of your morning recreational activities in the library yesterday. The boy is only three after all. We don't want to have to make any awkward explanations."

"That wasn't near as scandalous an interlude as she makes it sound, Papa," Robert grumbled.

Richard raised an eyebrow. "Call me old fashioned if you will, but, if what your mother says she saw is in fact what was transpiring, it was far more scandalous than that old library can handle. Now what has you in here brooding and spying?"

Robert sighed. "I had nothing to do and I've been trying to come up with the perfect gift for Cora to celebrate her first Christmas as my wife. For the life of me I can't think of anything grand enough for the occasion."

"Sometimes it's the little things that mean the most. A mere word could mean more than you'd think possible." Richard said. "Come downstairs and join Marmaduke and I in the billiard room. You can sound your ideas out with him. He's bought your sister almost everything imaginable, if anyone can help you make a purchase it's him." Robert shrugged and left the room with his father. "You mustn't be so serious, my son," Richard said as they walked. "I'm sure that your Cora will be thrill with anything you give her just because you took a few moments to think of her when you chose it."

"I spend more of my day thinking of her than I care to admit. There's nothing special about that." Robert grumbled. Richard just smiled and shook his head. For such a bright boy, Robert knew very, very little about his wife. Lord Grantham hoped, for her sake, that his son put the pieces together before Melissa arrived to complicate things.


	31. A Sibling's Advice

Rosamund spared nothing in her criticism of her brother as they walked back from the village, not even unladylike language. " You, Robert Crawley, are a turd," she declared.

"Don't speak that way in public! You'll get us both into trouble. Can you imagine Mama's reaction?" Robert said looking around for anyone who might have heard, "And I am not a turd," he hissed.

Rosamund looked quite unconvinced. "The way you treat that dear girl you married? Please, Robert, you are quite a turd." Robert tried to interrupt but his sister continued. "She adores you and will do anything to please you. All she wants in return is for you to say you love her. Now, if you didn't feel anything for her, I could completely understand your not wanting to lie to the poor, besotted thing, but you do feel a great deal for her, so I don't know why you're antagonizing her so by not saying the three words she dreams of hearing from you every night."

"How do you know all of this?" Robert asked with irritation as he began to realize that even his mother couldn't have supplied her with some of her information. "Has Emily be keeping you informed? Or has it be Carson?" he asked sharply. He did not like the idea of having spying servants in his midst.

"Oh don't be so paranoid," his sister sighed making a theatrical gesture. "Cora and I are sisters now. We can confide in one and other, can't we? You would like us to be close, wouldn't you?" Rosamund said with a scheming smile. "So we talk. Like sisters." She could tell her brother didn't like the sound of that.

"So you two have been gossiping about me." he said with a pout. He didn't like hearing that Cora was discussing their relationship with his nosy sister, but considering how the ladies in his family talked about the private business of everyone they knew, he figured it shouldn't have come as a surprise that Cora would join in eventually.

"Not gossiping per say," Rosamund said. Robert was incredulous. "She's just trying to learn about you - what you like and so on. She's not very forthcoming with regards to your romantic escapades. I get to hear about that from Mama, which reminds me which rooms now require me to knock before entering?" she asked with a grin.

"I can't believe you know about that already," he said shaking his head. "I fear I'll never live it down." Suddenly, a though occurred to him and he got very serious. "I don't want you teasing Cora about that. She was so embarrassed and I don't want her upset."

Rosamund gave her brother a look. "Robert, I have wanted a sister for years. I swear I was the only one in the family who was hoping for a Matilda, or a Hortense, or a Gertrude instead of a little Robert when you were on the way."

"Why wound I have gotten such an ugly name?" her brother asked.

"An ugly name for an ugly girl," Rosamund smirked. "You'd make a very unattractive woman, Robert."

"Point taken," Robert said as they both chuckled, "... though that didn't stop you and your friends from making me play dress up with you."

"We needed another princess in our play, you were the best we could do. I told you I've wanted a sister for years." Rosamund explain as they both laughed. After they quieted she continued. "Now that I have one, I'm not going to go out of my way to hurt her feelings."

"So you approve of her now?" Robert asked hopefully as they approached Downton Abbey. "When I first brought her home, you were indifferent at best."

"Yes," Rosamund smiled. "I admit that I was skeptical at first - I'm very protective of my baby brother after all - but Cora really is a very nice girl." She stopped and faced her brother at the edge of the tree line. "And I like the effect her presence has had on you. You've always been so serious and so dutiful. I worried about you. Marriage was pushed upon you and you accepted it just like you've accepted every other duty you've been given as heir without argument. I just wanted you to be happy, especially after was happened between you and Melissa. Cora's good for you and she does make you happy, doesn't she?"

Robert smiled as they started walking again. "Yes, she does. I can't believe how happy she makes me. I wish I could make her as happy, but I don't think it's possible. I can't imagine being able to bring someone that much joy.I'd love to if I could, though. It would be that perfect gift I'm searching high and low for. I want her first Christmas here to be special."

Rosamund sighed. "So tell her you love her. It's the most special thing you could do for her and it would certainly make her very happy indeed."

Robert shook his head and quicken his pace as he headed for the house. "I can't. I want the moment I tell her to be perfect. I want to make it a perfect memory we can have forever since nothing about our courtship or marriage thus far has be anything I'll be too proud to remember."

"Then you'll keep her waiting forever!" Rosamund snapped. "Every day you put it off she's a little more miserable than she has to be."

"It isn't the right time!" he insisted as his pace quickened further.

"There is no 'right moment', Robert! It doesn't exist. Do you think the 'right moment' will be any easier to come by when Melissa is prowling around here trying to get you to bed her," Rosamund insisted as she followed him to the door. "… or are you considering taking her up on her offer while you keep Cora wondering what else she can possibly do to win the love you're withholding from her. Tell me, which one of them will you be stringing along? The one you used to do anything for or the one who will do anything for you?" she yelled as they walked up to the door. "That's is why I said you're a turd! You are a turd, Robert! You're Robert the Christmas Turd!"

"I am not Robert the Christmas Turd!" Robert yelled back as he stomped his foot on the front step like an angry child.

"Of course you aren't, My Lord," Carson said as unflappably as ever as he opened the door.

"Oh, um… well… thank you, Carson," Robert said awkwardly. He hadn't expected to be faced with his butler. He also hadn't expected his mother to be standing in the main hall waiting for them. "Mama?" he babbled as Rosamund joined him and his father wandered out of his study to watch the fireworks.

"Has this family finally reached dissolution?" Violet roared. "That language has no place in this house!"

"You could hear us in the house?" Robert asked as he fidgeted nervously.

"I believe you could be heard in Cornwall!" the Countess hissed.

"All of it?" he asked?

"Enough of it," his mother snipped. "You know better than to use that kind of language in front of a lady." She turned her attention to Rosamund. "And _you_ shouldn't be using that language at all!" Violet and Rosamund began bickering among themselves and Robert took the opportunity to slink off to find refuge in the library.

He was standing by the window lost in thought about Melissa's upcoming visit and the possible implications of it when he felt himself being wrapped in a familiar embrace. "You look unsettled, my love. Is there anything I can do to help?" Cora asked as she rested her head against his back.

Robert turned so that he was facing his wife. If she'd overheard any of his discussion with his sister, it didn't show in her face or her actions. Looking into her pale blue eyes and seeing how eager she was to please him made him feel guilty for even thinking of Melissa. "Oh Cora, you are so very good to me," he sighed and held her close as he wondered how he was going to make it through Melissa's visit without breaking his wife's heart. He kissed her forehead gently and tried to push those thoughts from his mind.


	32. Secrets and Pretending

Cora gasped for air and she felt her chest tighten as if she'd been put into a vice. Her knees buckled and it was only luck that landed her seated on the edge of the bed and not in a heap on the floor. She let the note slip from her fingers and watched it float gracefully to the floor, but its contents were burned into her memory playing over and over in her mind.

_My Dearest Robert,_

_It's hard to believe that so much has changed in so short a time. Yet there is one thing that has remained content since we were last together. My heart is still yours and I'm hopeful that, once reunited, we may choose to continue as we were before fate and duty had their say in our futures. I dare not describe in detail how I long to feel your strong arms around me and your body pressed against mine. I hope that marriage hasn't dulled your sense that passion and romance that I remember so vividly that it quickens my pulse to recall it, though it is a poor substitute for the real thing. I anxiously await arriving at Downton Abbey and seeing you again. I hope the thought of my visit and all it may hold excites you too, darling, because I plan to make it a visit to remember._

_With love and anticipation,_

_Your M._

It had been wrong of her to read her husband's note, of course. She'd found it on the floor of her bedroom that morning after Robert had collected his clothes from the previous night and gone to his dressing room to ready himself for the day. It must've fallen out of one of his pockets when they'd hurriedly undressed each other the previous night. Their night together had been particularly enjoyable and Cora couldn't shake the notion that Robert's above par performance had been due to another woman being first in his mind while he had been making love to her. She grabbed for the bell pull as tears clouded her vision and she continued to breath raggedly.

Cora's maid, Emily, was shocked by her appearance when she walked into the room. "Oh Emily, I'm feeling rather unwell. Please see that my excuses are made downstairs." The maid nodded, clearly concerned for her mistress. She helped Cora settle into bed before hurrying down the servant's stairwell and through narrow hallways to find the housekeeper, Mrs. Smythe and inform her of the viscountess' illness.

"We'll have to let them know upstairs," Mrs. Smythe said. "With that little one coming in just two days, we can't have sickness in the house. Be sure that everything is cleaned with particular care," she instructed as she turned to go find the new butler and ask him to inform Lord Grantham.

Carson proceeded to the drawing room where the family was discussing the usual holiday plans - where to move things after the tree was in place, how many candles they'd need for the party, why Rosamund couldn't hang mistletoe in the middle of the room, etc - and politely waited to be acknowledged before interrupting their conversation. "The Viscountess has been taken ill, my Lord, and is in bed. She send her regrets that she will not be joining you for luncheon."

Murmurs of concern bubbled through the group. "I see, Carson, thank you for informing us." When the butler didn't go, Richard inquired further. "Is there anything else?"

Carson hated being the bearer of bad news, but found it to be an occupational hazard. Even so, he couldn't hold back a quick, sympathetic look toward Robert as he continued. "In light of your guests arrival the day after tomorrow and the fact that among them is a small boy, Mrs. Smythe thought it would be best to send for the doctor directly, just as a precautionary measure."

"Is it that serious," Robert asked getting to his feet. She'd seemed fine - even playful - when he'd left her that morning. So much so that he'd been hoping to find a moment to slip away after luncheon and see if they couldn't spend a little time together.

The butler's expression betrayed nothing. "Her maid was quite unsettled by the state she found her in," he replied. Without another word Robert left the room and made his way upstairs to check on his wife.

As soon as the door closed behind her brother Rosamund stood. "May I go up to see her?" she asked.

Violet looked at her as if she'd just asked to ride naked through the village. "You? Why on earth would you want to see her?" the Countess asked in complete bewilderment.

"She's my sister," Rosamund declared, "and I'm worried about her."

Violet was speechless but Richard was not. He smiled at his headstrong daughter. "Go ahead," he said nodding toward the door and watched her scamper out of the room.

Violet set her gaze on her son-in-law who had suddenly found his newspaper very interesting. "Do you feel the need to rush off to check on Cora as well?" she snipped in a very accusatory tone.

Marmaduke kept his nose buried in the Times. "No. I trust Rosamund will keep me informed." Richard laughed and even Violet couldn't hold back her smile.

"All of this commotion over a sniffling American," Violet huffed "what is this family coming to?"

Cora had heard her husband's footsteps approaching her bedroom and she panicked. He was the last person she wanted to see because she knew he'd ask question about why she'd skipped luncheon and what had her upset. It was a conversation she wasn't ready to have to she pretended to be asleep when she heard him knock at her door and call her name softly. It didn't surprise her that the lack of a response didn't deter him. She lay still as he entered the room and came to kneel by the edge of her bed. As he kissed her gently, stroked her hair, and whispered lovingly into her ear, Cora couldn't stop wondering who Robert was really thinking about - her or _his M_.

"Stop fussing with her, Robert," Rosamund hissed as she walked into the room and startled her brother, "The poor thing looks awful. She needs her rest."

"What are you doing here?" he grumbled. "And don't tell me how to tend to my wife." he said as he knelt again and carefully caressed her cheek.

"Don't be so defensive Robert, I came to see how she was just like you did. Is it so hard to believe that someone other than yourself would be worried about her?" Rosamund said. "As I told you yesterday, she's my sister now. I'm just as protective of her as I am of you. Maybe even more so since you're being such a turd." If they had been watching Cora more closely, they would've seen the corners of her lips curl momentarily as she fought back a giggle.

"For the last time, Rosamund, I am NOT a turd!" Robert snapped as he moved to sit on his wife's bed. Cora had covered her stifled laugh by turning over and wrapping her arms around his pillow. She did her best ignore the way he gently rubbed her back. When she had believed herself to be the only woman he desired as he had told her she was, she loved his touch and had craved it. Now that she knew there was another, it made her feel like nothing more than a toy that he played with on occasion only to be discarded when he found something he liked better. She truly had sold herself for a title and bought herself a gilded cage. "She doesn't think I'm a turd, and her opinion of me is the only one that matters," Robert said as he leaned over her to kiss neck. Rosamund put her hands over her eyes. "My angel." he whispered and the supposedly sleeping Cora sighed softly. In reality she was trying not to cry.

"If she knew what you were keeping from her, she might start to see my point," his sister said peeking between her fingers before uncovering her face as her brother shook his head. As Cora lay there she thought about how right her sister-in-law was. Rosamund continued on this topic dispute her brother's growing discomfort. " For heaven's sake, Robert, tell her. You could tell her now if you only had the nerve."

"She's asleep. What good would telling her now do?" he huffed.

"Practice." his sister suggested.

"I want the moment to be right, I want Cora to be awake, and I want you to be nowhere in sight. This is clearly not the right time." he grumbled.

"Oh, you're such a turd," she muttered.

Robert stood, carefully pulled the covers up so Cora would be warmer, kissed her gently, and then faced his sister with fury in his eyes. "Rosamund, this is a matter for me and my wife to deal with. When I think I should tell her, I will. I don't want to cause her undo stress while she is unwell and I won't be bullied into it by my meddling sister calling me a turd. I will tell her in my own time. Now if you'll excuse me, I think I should go wait for Dr. Lennox." He left the room without another word.

"Oh Cora, I wish he were more considerate of your feelings," Rosamund said and turned to leave. As she did, she noticed a piece of paper on the floor and picked it up. She hadn't intended to read it, but somehow, surely by accident, she happened to do so. She left the room quietly and the marched off to confront her brother and ask him what part of his anatomy was actually doing most of his thinking. She was so preoccupied, she nearly knocked her mother down as she rushed down the stairs.

When she was sure she was alone again, Cora opened her eyes and sat up more confused than ever before. She didn't know how to feel about the morning's events. She knew that reading her husband's letter had been wrong, but she didn't feel as guilty about prying into his affairs as she would have had she not discovered what sounded like and actual affair. And after he'd assured her that she was his "one and only". It had been a few months before, soon after he'd hurt his shoulder, but she'd put her faith in his word. She'd trusted Robert with her heart unconditionally and perhaps that had been a mistake, but she had done it because she loved him. She was starting to cry again, but a light knock on the door startled her into stopping just in time to see Lady Grantham walk into her room.

The two women watched each other silently for a moment before Violet slowly began to speak. "I't alright, my dear, I come in peace," she said tentatively as she approached her very skeptical daughter-in-law. "You've been crying, I see," she said gesturing to Cora's damp cheeks, "Are you in pain?"

"No," Cora whimpered softly.

"That's good, that's good," Violet said as she pulled a chair over to the side of the bed that Cora wasn't occupying thus keeping the usual distance between them intact. "Is it nausea?" she asked. Cora shook her head. Violet sighed. "Is Dr. Lennox going to find anything wrong with you?" she asked with an unusually soft tone.

Cora lowered her head and tried to hide her trembling bottom lip. "No," she said barely above a whisper. She was surprised to see a smile on her mother-in-law's face.

"I think I understand," Violet said with uncharacteristic warmth, "It's your first Christmas away from America. I know from experience how hard that can be. Robert and Rosamund do not. I don't know what Marmaduke has told his family - that I'm some inflexible dragon of a woman who demands that they spend the holiday with us - but whatever it is, I'm glad it works for now. I'm sure that one day I will have to cope with a Christmas without my daughter, but as of yet I haven't." She was surprised by how pleased she was to see Cora slide over to the side of the bed nearer to her. "It gets better, my dear, truly it does. You'll settle in and then this will start to feel like your home and then eventually there will be children and that makes the season even more joyous." She could see that this talk of children made Cora uneasy, so Violet moved the conversation to what she assumed was less uncomfortable territory. "I know Robert will do his best to make things lovely for you. He's doing everything he can think of to make it special and he's sworn me to secrecy, so I can't say any more. Just believe me when I say that he's trying very hard," Violet said as she stood and patted Cora's small, cold hand. "Try to feel better, my dear."

"I will try," Cora assured Violet. "Thank you," she added as Violet quietly left the room leaving Cora to her thoughts. She was laying on Robert's side of the bed. The pillow smelled of his cologne and she felt the same feeling of betrayal and isolation she'd felt earlier creeping up on her again. She found herself once again pondering one question - where do you turn when it's the one who has promised to keep your heart safe that has wounded it so deeply?

Violet turned from Cora's door to find Richard stand at the end of the hallway smiling at her. "Has my own wife joined in the commotion over a sniffling American?" he asked as she walked over to him. As soon as she was within reach, he wrapped his arms tightly around her waist. "What is the family coming to, indeed," he teased, parroting her earlier comment.

Violet smiled at him. "With everyone rushing up here to pay her a visit, it would seem unkind if I didn't," she said matter-of-factly.

"And you would never be unkind to Cora," Richard said. His wife gave an indignant sort of snort. He didn't push the issue. He knew this was better left alone, but he couldn't help wondering if his wife hadn't begun to warm, ever so slightly, to their American daughter-in-law.

Meanwhile, downstairs, Robert was sitting alone in the library anxiously awaiting luncheon. His activities with Cora the previous evening had kept them awake most of the night and, in keeping with the rule that you can either not sleep or not eat, he was famished. He saw Rosamund enter the room but didn't notice her anger. "I have something for you," she snarled.

"I hope it's edible," he replied with sigh. "I'm hungry."

Rosamund's lips formed a vengeful smile. "Oh, I would love nothing more than to see you choke this down," she grumbled and thrust the letter into his hand. He paled. "It was on Cora's bedroom floor. Open. You're going to take her up on her offer, aren't you? Otherwise, you wouldn't have kept the letter. My stars, Robert, but your are a cruel, heartless, turd," Rosamund huffed as she sat across the room from him. Robert didn't argue. Maybe his was a turd. He certainly felt like one.

Robert had to think and he couldn't do so with his sister eyeing him like a hawk. He had to go somewhere - anywhere - else. He got up to leave and reached the door just as his parents entered the room with Marmaduke. "Robert, where are you running off to?" his father asked.

"I thought I'd take a walk. I need to clear my head," Robert replied as he took hold of the doorknob.

"But what about luncheon?" Violet asked with concern.

"It seems I've lost my appetite," he said before disappearing through the door.


	33. In Love Once

Robert was laying on the bed in his dimly lit dressing room listening to the soft crackle of the fire. It was no use trying to placate his ego - which had played a large role in getting him into this predicament - by making up excuses. He was hiding from his wife. He simply couldn't face her. The pain in her eyes sliced his heart. There was no need to ask if she'd read the letter. She looked too betrayed no to have. Logically there was no reason for him to feel guilty - affairs weren't unheard of by any stretch of the imagination - but he felt absolutely terrible every time he thought about how she'd looked at him when he'd gone to check on her after dinner. He'd gone twice before that, but she'd been sleeping and she'd looked too pretty and peaceful to move so he'd just kissed her a few times and left her be. That hadn't been too hard on him, but when he'd walked in and found her awake and she whimpered his name, it had all but crushed him. Her eyes were reddened from crying and she'd flinched away from him when he'd tried to dry her tears, but the worst part by far was when she'd looked up at him and said how sorry she was for being so down. She had apologized to him when he had broken her heart. It all but killed him. He'd babbled something about letting her rest and clambered into his dressing room where he had stayed. He didn't know what made him feel worse - how badly he'd hurt his Cora or how deeply he was missing the closeness they had so recently developed and which he feared they would never enjoy in quite the same way again.

He looked at the clock on the nightstand and sighed. It was still so early. He rolled over and looked at the door to Cora's bedroom. He longed to hold her and kiss away any notion in her mind that there was anyone else who could make him feel as happy as she did. He got up and approached the door. After one brief pause to collect himself, he knocked gently. There was no answer. He opened the door and peeked around it into the semi-dark room. Cora was on her stomach clinging to what he'd used to call 'his' pillow up until that afternoon. She was asleep again. Even so, Robert decided to go over to her just to be near her for a few minutes. "Oh Cora," he sighed as he sat on the edge of her bed and began stroking her hair, "why can't I ever get things right with you, my perfect girl?" He laid down beside her and moved his hand so it trailed lazily up and down her back over the layers of bedding. She had always enjoyed it when he rubbed her back in the past, though he had no idea how any sort of close contact would be received now. He thought about what his sister had suggested earlier in the day. "Rosamund thinks I should practice telling you how I feel while you're sleeping. I think she's out of her mind," he said. He let his hand slip under the bed linens to continue its previous track over Cora's silk sheathed body. He loved her in silk and he savored every caress. He knew that he would eventually wake her if he kept pawing her, but he couldn't help himself. "I adore you, Cora. Truly I do. Melissa thinks she'll change that but she won't. I'm a different man now that you're in my life - a better man - and I wouldn't want to go back to the way I was," he whispered to her. He longed to hold her and make all of this business about Melissa just disappear. His hand dipped lower and he felt her gasp as it drifted over the roundness of her bottom and cupped her. He smiled as he groped her gently, but more deliberately. She never wore anything under her nightgown and the thought of there being nothing but that thin silk between them excited him - not too much, but he knew that was most likely as exciting as his night would get, so he tried to make the most of it. He thought he was being as gentle as possible, but that apparently wasn't the case and she whimpered softly in protest. He froze, convinced he'd woken her, with his hand still resting on her bottom. "Cora?" he said tentatively. She squirmed but remained silent. "Did I wake you, my angel?" he asked. She wiggled her hips a little more, but there was no reply. He moved his hand off her bottom, which seemed to settle her, and leaned over her, kissing her cheek and whispering to her. "If you only knew how much I lo…"

"Oh, M'lord, I'm so sorry," said Emily, the head housemaid, as she stood stunned at having walked into Cora's bedroom to find Robert hovering over her and whispering romantically into her ear.

Robert leapt off of the bed. "I was… just… getting… umm... something to read," he stammered and grabbed something vaguely book-like off of his wife's dressing table and darting into his dressing room as quickly as he could.

Emily was about to go too when she heard a soft voice call her name. The maid turned to find Cora wide awake.

Robert was leaning on the door to his dressing room trying to catch his breath and reassemble his aristocratic air when he finally thought to look at what he was supposedly reading. Given the way things had been going that day, he had the sneaking suspicion he'd just made a fool of himself again. He was proven correct as he flipped through the catalogue of ladies' corsets and such he held in his hand. "Oh, blast," he grumbled. He kept flipping through the catalogue though, and several items had made him take a second look. He got and idea and searched around for a pen.

He was just finishing with his project when his stomach growled loudly. He had picked at his dinner and now he was paying the price. He thought about ringing for his valet but then decided against it. He grabbed his dressing gown and, lingerie catalogue in hand, headed for the kitchen in hopes of finding Emily and some pear tart.

He found Emily on the servants' staircase also on her way to the kitchen. She seemed a little embarrassed in his presence. Perhaps it was due to the way she'd just found him in his wife's room or the fact that he was in his pajamas, slippers, and dressing gown and wandering the house with a catalogue of ladies' unmentionables, but she was trying to hide it and he didn't see a point in making a fuss about it. He was a man on a mission after all. He handed her the catalogue in which several items had been circled and notes had been made regarding colors and other details. "I'd like you to place this order for me… err… my wife. Please supply the proper measurements and such." he said as formally as he could. Emily agreed dutifully and Robert continued on his way imagining how his Cora would look in the negligee referred to in the catalogue as 'Enchanted Twilight' in 'Champagne Blush'. It would come with a matching bed jacket, but that has no place in his thoughts as he continued on to the kitchen.

"I'm sorry, m'lord," Mrs Winters, the cook, said, "I don't have any pear tart for you."

Robert tried not to look too disappointed. He refused her offer of toast with honey and was about to head back upstairs with a few spice biscuits when Emily passed by him on her way to the stairs carrying a plate of warmed pear tart. He pointed to the plate and turned to the cook. "What was that then?" his asked indignantly.

"That is for Lady Downton, m'lord," Mrs. Winters said calmly as she reined in a smile. Her assistant, Beryl Patmore, was not as successful in keeping a straight face as she packed up his biscuits.

"And why was there no pear tart left for me when I asked a few minutes ago?" Robert inquired, sensing that the content of his letter was now known to the whole of the staff.

The cook was not one to be crossed and she bristled at the young lord's tone. "I am simply following the instructions Her Ladyship has given me."

"My mother told you to give Cora dessert and give none to me?" he asked.

"You may have dessert, but she specifically said that the leftover pear tart was for the Viscountess, m'lord," the cook said.

"So there is more pear tart..." he said.

"Yes," the cook replied.

"… but I'm not allowed to have any…" he continued.

"That's correct," the cook answered with a smile now spreading across her face.

"… because my mother says its for Cora," he added with irritation.

"I'm just doing as I was instructed to," Mrs. Winters stated. She noticed the young man's odd, slightly confused expression. "Are you alright, m'lord?" she asked.

"Fine. Good night," Robert muttered as he turned and made his way back to his room with his biscuits and wondered what rabbit hole he'd managed to fall down that morning. His mother nurturing Cora? Maids wandering into bedrooms for no reason? He had the feeling that there was more going on than he was being led to believe. He went to his room and ate his biscuits sullenly. He was still hungry, but there was no use going back down to the kitchen because they wouldn't give him even a nibble of tart, his mother had seen to that. He was about to flop back down onto his bed when there was a soft knock at the door to Cora's bedroom. "Come in," he called and Cora entered.

She stood in front of him nervously like she had months earlier before they gotten to know each other. "I had asked Emily to bring me up some pear tart, but she brought far too much. It would be a shame to let it go to waste and I thought that, since you had said once that it was your favorite, you might share it with me," she said softly. Her voice was trembling but there was a resolved look in her eyes that Robert found slightly reassuring.

He went to her and took her hand. "I'd love nothing more, my dearest Cora." She pulled away from him and he followed her into her room. He tried to lighten the mood as he watched her bend over to spread a towel over her bed. "Do you think I'm going to make a mess of the place?" he asked playful as he reached over and patted her bottom. She yipped in shock and sat down quickly on the bed. Robert sighed and sat next to her. "I'm sorry, Cora, I didn't mean to make you uncomfortable," he said trying to get her to look at him. "I suppose that wasn't the most appropriate gesture and I certainly shouldn't be taking such liberties with you when you're unwell. I hope you're feeling better."

Cora finally met his gaze. "A little better, thank you, Robert," she said with a weak, somewhat forced smile. She reached across him to move the breakfast tray with a very generous portion of pear tart on it. As she did this, the neckline of her nightgown fell away from her body and Robert swallowed hard as he noticed that from where he sat, he could see straight down the front of it. He averted his eyes to try to keep from touching other things that he shouldn't given the circumstances.

"I should ring and ask Emily for plates and another fork," Cora said.

"And perhaps something to drink." Robert added. "Can to stomach some champagne, my dear?"

"Yes," Cora responded, "… that would be lovely." She rang for her maid and, when the girl arrived, she made her requests as Robert sat quietly. Only after Emily had left them did Cora notice Robert smiling at her. "What are you grinning at?" she asked.

His grin widened. "I've never had a picnic in a girl's bedroom before," he said. "I should have brought something to this party."

"If you hadn't brought me to England, the party wouldn't be taking place. I guess you did bring something," Cora said coolly.

"You're not a 'something', Cora," he said reaching for her hand. "You're my much adored and treasured wife." He had hoped his words would earn him a smile but instead she looked distant and hurt. He knew the awkward and inevitable conversation about the letter from Melissa was about to begin. "Please, Cora, my dearest heart…" he started to make excuses, but his wife silenced him with one question.

"Do you love her?" Cora asked as she ran her finger over his wedding ring. "This 'M' woman. Are you in love with her?" She looked into his eyes pleadingly. "Please tell me honestly. I laid my heart bare to you when you asked me to." They quieted as Emily returned with the plates and fork and Carson followed with the champagne.

Robert asked Carson to go and retrieve that package of chocolate from the drawer of his nightstand in his dressing room and the butler did so quite quickly. The servants left the young couple in silence. "I did love her. I loved her very much," Robert stared into his glass and watched the lines of bubbles rise through the wine. "'M' is Melissa Beaumont, well, she's Melissa Hawthorne now - the Viscountess Sundermoore. She was the singular object of my affection since my first flickering of a more adult interest in the opposite sex. She was the first girl I ever danced with. The first girl who held my hand. The first girl I ever kissed. The first girl I did a lot of things with. I was entirely under her spell. Completely besotted. She crook her finger and I'd come running. If she had asked me for the moon dipped in gold, I'd have set about getting it for her. I had no desire or interest in the charms of other girls. When I was away at school, I would visit her every weekend and after my freshman year at university, I made it known to my family that I wished to marry her. My father insisted that I finish school before I married. I was furious. My father and I barely spoke. My mother and sister helped sort things out between us just in time for my sister's wedding, but my father has disliked Melissa ever since. He still calls her 'Machiavelli in a Frock'. He thought - and still thinks - that she was a scheming, vengeful, manipulator who puts people at odds for her own gain or even just for entertainment. It turns out he wasn't that far off. As I continued on at university, I saw Melissa more infrequently. I still ignored any opportunities to take up with other women that presented themselves and did my best to satisfy my passions by exchanging letters and gifts with her. Then, the winter before I graduated, she just stopped writing. I wrote letter after letter and received nothing in return. Weeks before graduation, as I was on my way to class, I saw her on campus. She was in the company of one of my closest friends, Percy Hawthorne, who introduced her to me as 'his future wife'. I was devastated and my trip to America was booked within a week. A few days before I left for New York, my sister and brother-in-law threw me and going away party while my parents were out of town and Percy brought her along. I begged her to tell me what had happened or what I'd done wrong, but all she would say was that she had never been interested in me and that she was sorry if she had led me to believe otherwise. I was brokenhearted and got obscenely drunk. I don't remember much else about that night, to be honest. Two weeks after I arrived in America, she and Percy were married. That next evening I went to a party and bumped into a beautiful girl in a dark red dress and I started to think of Melissa less and less. By the time that letter arrived last week, Melissa Hawthorne couldn't have been further from my mind. Only one woman occupies my thoughts now and I wouldn't have it any other way. I did love Melissa, but I don't love her now." Robert finally looked up from his glass. Cora was watching him intently searching his expression for any hints to his emotions or his truthfulness.

"Is she pretty?" Cora asked.

"Yes," Robert answered.

"Why did you keep the letter?" Her question met an uncomfortable silence, so she tried something else. "Are you going to take her up on her invitation?" she questioned wincing ever so slightly as she did as fit the idea itself caused her pain. Robert was dumbstruck. Cora forced herself to continue. "I've told you why I married you. I made a decision that will effect the rest of my life based in part on a very naive and childish notion about love. Now I understand that marriage and affection aren't as simple or predictable as I'd first thought. I still want to make you happy, Robert, and if you want some sort of … arrangement, I'll try to understand and be as accommodating as possible."

"Try?" was all he was able to say as he took in the scope of what she was offering.

"I still love you, Robert," she whispered.

He looked down at something and she followed his gaze. He'd just notice that she was still holding his hand tightly. Without another word, he pulled her toward him with such force that she bumped into the breakfast tray and spilled the remaining champagne in her glass onto her nightgown. She hopped up and examined the stain as Robert moved the tray off the bed before taking hold of her by the shoulders. He looked deeply into her eyes for a moment and then kissed her forcefully. He pulled the nightgown off of her and to a long look at her before kissing her again. He kept kissing her as he undressed and pulled back the covers before falling into bed and pulling her down on top of him. He caressed her cheek and played with her hair as she tried to ignore the way his body was prodding her thigh uncomfortably and almost demandingly. He rolled them over and Cora expected him to start making love to her, but he stopped. "Are you sure you're well enough for this," he asked "I don't want you to feel obligated or pressured in any way."

If Cora was honest, she really didn't want to. He had kept a letter from a woman - this Melissa - who had offered him an affair for some reason he wouldn't share with her. She'd overheard him and his sister discussing some other secret he was keeping from her. He'd said that he had loved Melissa and Cora wasn't convinced that those feelings were all in the past. And yet she didn't say no. He was very tender and gentle with her and she certainly didn't find it at all unpleasant, but she hadn't wanted it. After Robert regained his strength, he set about serving them a post coital dessert of pear tart and champagne. He could sense that she was still very insecure and he kept trying to make her smile all throughout their dessert and their usual banter before they fell asleep. Before sleep claimed him, he gave Cora one more hug tried to reassure her on more time. "No one could ever mean as much to me as you do, Cora. Please believe that. I adore you. I cherish you. I don't know what else I can say to describe it." They lay together quietly for a time.

"I love you, Robert," she said with a soft sigh.


	34. Insecurities

Cora woke with a start and looked around the room as the first rays of dawn gave the room a very little light. She rolled over carefully and watched her husband sleep. He was so handsome and peaceful lying there beside her. She ran her fingers lightly through his hair and smiled when he murmured her name. It was a far cry from her nightmare. They had been walking together in London when Robert suddenly pulled away from her and disappeared into the crowd. She'd tried to rush after him, but him moved too quickly and she couldn't keep up. She'd been calling him and begging him to wait for her, but he was gone and she was alone. She couldn't find her way back to the family's London home and she was left wandering alone among increasingly malicious looking people. She'd woken up with a yell when she felt someone put their hand on her hip but it turned out to have been Robert's hand brushing against her as they slept. "Most shapely bottom in Britain," he muttered half asleep as he grabbed her roughly. He was more dexterous than she'd thought a partially sleeping man could be because he managed to pinch her bottom in his semiconscious state - not all that hard, but hard enough to make Cora jump. Now not only was she wide awake, but she was also nervous that he might pinch her again. With a sigh, she gave up on sleeping in her own bed for a while. She managed to pull a sheet off of the bed as she slipped out of it. She wrapped the sheet around her bare body and, after kissing Robert lovingly on the forehead in spite of his grabby hands, she crept into his dressing room. There was no reason to risk waking him when he was sleeping so blissfully just because of her silly dream. She really didn't want to think about the conversation the discussion of that dream would produce. It certainly wasn't the way she wanted to begin her day. She climbed into Robert's bed and spent the next hour or so tossing and turning until she finally fell back to sleep.

As the morning continued, the house began to come to life. The Christmas tree was arriving before breakfast and the downstairs was buzzing. Getting a twelve foot pine indoors and in its place without endangering any of the family's fine possessions was a tricky business best accomplished before the lady of the house was up and about. Carson stepped back surveying the tree's final placement with a satisfied sigh and an approving nod when Watson, Lord Downton's valet, rushed over to him looking quite disheveled. The tree had not been kind to him. He was covered in pine needles and the hem of his right sleeve had been torn loose in an altercation with an unruly branch. It was time to wake the young lord, but Watson was not fit for service given his appearance. Carson sent him downstairs to mend his sleeve and get the pine needles out of his hair and then went up to wake the Viscount.

He knocked lightly on the dressing room door before entering where he was surprised to see the bed occupied. After bringing a bottle of champagne up to the young couple who were in their nightclothes at the time, he had expected that they would be together. He drew back the curtains and the room was suddenly filled with sunlight. "Good morning, My… Oh, good heavens! My Lady!" the butler gasped. His usual stern, professional expression melted into complete shock and he literally jumped back at the sight of the Viscountess sleeping alone in her husband's bed. She rolled over clutching the blankets. This uncovered her back and a bit of her bottom making Carson inhale sharply as he realized that the young Lady Downton was unclothed under the blankets. He froze expecting the woman's husband to come in and suspect him of having some sort of prurient interest in his very beautiful, sweet, sleeping wife. He was about to rush out of the room when he noticed her shiver. It was winter after all and, with no one to snuggle up to, it was no surprise that she was cold with her back exposed like that. He approached the bed as quietly as possible and began carefully readjusting the bedding to cover her more fully. As he worked, the back of his hand brushed against her silky skin often and each time it sent a tingle through his body. He took a deep breath while trying to control his body reaction to the situation as best as could be expected and reflecting on the fact that, if he had such an exquisitely lovely, attentive, charming woman lying naked in his bed, he certainly wouldn't leave her there by herself. He fussed with the bed linens and his finger tips skimmed across her bottom as he arranged the bedding over her. She wiggled her bottom. His palm grazed her breast. She gave a soft sigh. He swallowed hard and finished covering her up quickly before temptation got the better of him.

Emily had been a few steps behind Carson as he went up the stairs. She was still a little uncomfortable waking Lord and Lady Downton together so when the butler didn't leave the dressing room immediately she gave a small sigh of relief at the fact that at least she wouldn't catch them tumbling around together before the day had even begun. She knocked softly before entering the room. The curtains had never been closed the night before so the room was already light. When the time had come to do that the young couple were already in the room together and the maid hadn't wanted to be seen as intruding. She straightened the curtains anyway and turned toward the bed where she was stunned to find that it was the young Lord and not his lady stirring in the bed. He rolled onto his back abandoning most of the covers. Though her position as a maid meant she had little interaction with him, she'd always found Lord Grantham's heir to be a friendly, kind-hearted man… and quite handsome as well. During the five years she had been in the Crawley's employ, she had taken secret delight in catching a glimpse of Lord Downton here and there throughout her day. They were actually the same age and, had she been born into the aristocracy, she hoped that she might have been the woman he'd married. She would never have treated him as badly as that Beaumont girl had or as his wife seemed to be now by leaving him there all alone. He stretched in his sleep and the maid let her eyes survey the young man's body. He wasn't exactly muscular, but Emily thought he was perfect as her gaze worked slowly up his bare leg.

As her eyes came to the corner of bed sheet that was tucked beneath him that was the only thing protecting his modesty - and just barely - she found herself wanting to lift it off of him and see if what it concealed was worth whatever extraordinary sum his American bride had brought to the house in exchange for the title of viscountess. For whatever little it was worth, Emily did not particularly like Cora. She saw her as childish, spoiled, wholly unsuited for the position she'd purchased, and entirely unworthy of the Crawley's only son. She had to stifle a giggle when she thought about the way she was leering at the man that silly American hoped might be drawn to her foreign wiles eventually. Emily wished he'd remain indifferent to her irritating young mistress. She saw it as a sign of his intelligence and good taste. Her stare wandered over his chest and shoulders and neck. His firm jaw. His lips which she would love to kiss. The peaceful expression on his face. His tousled, curly hair. After a quick look over her shoulder, she walked over to the bed and gently ran her finger through Robert's hair. She gasped as he pressed his cheek against her hand. "Cora, my love," he murmured. Emily sighed and shook her head. So much for intelligence and good taste. She picked up the breakfast tray with the dishes from the couple's late dessert on it and the empty champagne bottle off the floor by the bed and started toward the door when she heard an attractive, drowsy voice call her name. She turned to him, suddenly very shy now that he was awake and addressing her. She hadn't thought he knew her name. "Emily, do you know where my lovely wife is?" he asked with a yawn.

"No, M'lord, she was gone when I came to wake her." the maid answered trying not to stare at the undressed Viscount. She turned to go, but he called her back.

His aristocratic formality had disappeared. "Emily, I have a problem and I think you might be the only one who can help me solve it," he said.

Emily blushed. "Yes, M'lord," she squeaked.

"I'm desperate to make my wife happy - really happy - on her first Christmas here. I'd like to give her something she'll love, but I have to admit, I don't have the slightest clue what that would be. You spend a good deal of time with her. Do you have any suggestions? Is there anything that makes her come to mind?"

Emily shook her head. "I can't think of anything," she said with genuine disappointment. It would've been nice to make him smile, "… just that song she hums." She didn't think that was anything but Robert looked very pleased indeed.

"That's it!" Robert said with glee. "The song. It's by Schubert. I think it's called Ständchen. My German is not what it ought to be, but I'm sure it's a song about love. Emily, you're wonderful. Thank you!"

The maid felt her cheeks warm as she blushed. "You're welcome, M'lord. I'm happy to help,"she whispered shyly. She rushed to leave and made her way downstairs with a big smile on her face thinking of how handsome Robert was wrapped in bed sheet and wearing nothing but that wonderful smile of his.

Meanwhile, next door Carson had gotten to work setting out the young lord's clothes so they'd be ready whenever he happened to appear and trying not to think about that young lord's beautiful wife who was sleeping in the bed behind him without a stitch of clothing on. He knew it wasn't his place to have thoughts like these, of course, but he couldn't help but feel sorry for the girl. All she wanted was a little love and it always seemed to be eluding her. If he were worthy of someone like her, he would never leave her in doubt of the way he felt about her. He heard her sigh and was about to leave the room to let her sleep in peace when he noticed fingerprints on the glass case that housed the Viscount's snuff box collection. The butler couldn't let that stand. He took a cloth out of his pocket and buffed the glass until it gleamed. Just as he finished, a gentle voice cooed to him. "Good morning, Carson." He looked over his shoulder to see the Viscountess smiling up at him.

"Good morning, My lady," he said as professionally as was possible "I hope I didn't disturb you. It was quite a surprise to find you here."

"I can imagine it was," Cora giggled. "I had a nightmare and couldn't get back to sleep. I didn't want to bother the Viscount, so I came in here," she said looking away from him almost ashamed.

"I see," Carson replied. He thought, but didn't add, that comforting the lovely Viscountess didn't sound like it wouldn't be all that much of a bother to any sensible man.

It took her a moment, but she shook off her melancholy. "Are you settling in well?" she asked seeming to be genuinely concerned.

"Yes, quite well, I think." His reply appeared to please her as if she'd actually given a thought to his situation. He knew he should leave before her charm made him say something he shouldn't. "Is their anything I can do for you, My lady, or shall I let you rest?" he asked expecting her dismiss him and initially she did but she called him back just as he reached the door. He turned to find her wrapped haphazardly in a sheet and sitting on the edge of the bed. She looked like a Grecian goddess - breathtaking, at least as far as he was concerned.

"Carson," she said fidgeting uncomfortably and that twinge of sadness returned to her voice, "… I need your honest opinion on something and it's imperative that I have your discretion as well." The butler nodded and Cora took a deep breath before continuing.

She looked up at the butler. "I'll do what I can, My Lady," he said hoping he could put to rest whatever was bothering her.

"Is there anything about me that a man would find… unappealing? That Lord Downton, in particular, might find unappealing?" she asked softly.

"What?" Carson stammered. "My Lady I can't… err… I shouldn't…" Cora was just beginning to tell him that it had been a foolish question and not to bother with it when she shifted and the sheet wrapped around her came loose. It slide down over her breasts and into her lap. He leapt away from her and covered his eyes as she screamed and quickly dove under the covers. She apologized over and over and he knew this was not the kind of reaction that would improve her confidence. The flustered butler was about to try to offer some sort of encouraging words when the door that connected the dressing room flew open and Robert, clad in pajama bottoms that were inside out, rushed to Cora's side.

"What's going on? What's the meaning of this?" Robert boomed as he sneered at Carson and he took his wife into his arms protectively. He held her tightly and pressed a kiss against her forehead, but there was rage in his eyes and they were locked on his butler.

Cora snuggled into his shoulder and Robert struggled to maintain his fury while his attention was wandering to the way Cora's breath felt on his collarbone and the flutter of her eyelashes against his throat. "I had a nightmare. I screamed when I woke up and scared poor Carson half to death," Cora told her husband. "I'm sorry, Carson. I never intended to unsettle you like that," she said with a sad look.

"That's quite alright, My Lady, you have nothing to be a ashamed of," Carson said. He gave her a knowing smile hoping she would know that he was trying his best to answer her original question. "Nothing at all."

"Thank you, Carson," she said happily. She'd picked up on his hidden message.

"Yes. Thank you, Carson, that will be all," Robert said still annoyed. He was also quite ready to be alone with his wife who he'd just realized was still naked.

After the butler left the room, Robert got up and tucked the bed sheet Cora was wrapped in more securely around her before picking her up and carrying her to her bed. "Why did you go in there in the first place Cora?" he asked as he laid her on the bed and then climbed in beside her after hastily tugging off his pajama bottoms. "Was I crowding you?" he teased as he held her tight.

"In a way," she replied with a smile. "You pinched my bottom."

Robert released his hold on her feigning disbelief. "I would never do such a thing. Are you sure?" He was kidding, but sometimes his wry sense of humor didn't register with his American wife.

"I know a pinch when I feel one, Robert!" Cora said testily. "You mumbled something in your sleep. Something about 'most shapely bottom in Britain,' and then you pinched me." She turned away from him as she kept talking. It was an invitation, unintentional though it might have been, that Robert couldn't pass up and he couldn't hide his wicked smile as he snuck his hand under the covers. Meanwhile, Cora was explaining why she'd moved to the dressing room. "I was fully awake and I didn't want to risk waking you, so I… Ouch!" she squealed and jumped as Robert pinched her bottom again. "Robert, no! Stop!" she cried as he groped and grabbed her.

He pulled her close and, when she stopped squirming, she found her face about an inch from that of her smiling husband. "I'm glad to have you back here with me... where you belong."

Cora smiled sweetly. "I was surprised to see you rush in and gather me up in your arms like that and then carry me to the bedroom. You were so protective. I can't help but wonder what I've done to earn such loving treatment,"she said letting her fingers trail down his neck and chest.

"I'm very protective of the one whom I adore, who puts up with my nonsense, and who my life would be incomplete without." Robert was doing his best to sweep his wife off her feet and, from the glowing smile on her face, he seemed to be doing a good job of it. "I woke up missing you, my lovely angel. Promise me you won't go wandering off alone again." Before she could answer he captured her lips in a kiss. They began their last quiet day before their guests arrived trying to quell the doubt and insecurity one of those guests had already already put between them.


	35. Glimmers of a Future Countess

A/N - Just a little snippet that I didn't want to get drowned out by the rest of its original chapter. A sort of calm before the storm.

* * *

><p>In the aristocratic world in which everyone seemed to live a charmed life one position was head and shoulders above all others - that of first born son. An eldest child that is also male lived the most charmed of all these charmed lives. All of them were treated with special care and some parents took it even farther than that and all but eschewed discipline all together. The three-year-old boy dressed in a pirate costume and staring out the window of the closed carriage on its way to Downton was living such a life and his parents, James and Andrea Crawley, were possibly the most indulgent parents in the whole of western civilization. He was never corrected. He always got what he wanted. The idea of 'rules' was completely foreign to him. All he knew was that if he asked for something, he got it and he always won every game he played. Patrick Seldon Crawley was his parent's little prince. Obviously, this made little Patrick a less-than-ideal playmate for other children, though the little boy didn't know that. He only knew he had few, if any friends, so hearing that there was a 'Cousin Robert' at this house had perked his interest immediately. "Do you think Cousin Robert will play pirates with me?" the child asked his mother.<p>

"Perhaps," his mother said weakly. She didn't have the heart to tell him that his cousin was a grown man who would most likely be far more interested in that _foreign_ woman of his to run around the house looking for a treasure trove of toys and pillaging the kitchen for sweets.

James took his son on his lap in an attempt to get him to sit still. "If you want him to play with you, it will happen. I'll make sure of it." he told the boy confidently. Patrick grinned and gave his father a big hug.

* * *

><p>At Downton Abbey, everyone was preparing to welcome Richard's nephew James, his wife and son, and his mother, Enid Crawley. As the family slowly began to find their way into the main hall to await their guests' arrival, Rosamund pulled Cora into the drawing room. Violet wanted to prepare her for what was to come. The Countess was sitting in her favorite chair waiting for them. She gestured for the two to sit and then began. "Before my sister-in-law and her family arrive, I feel there are some things you should be made aware of, my dear," she said as Cora took a seat, "and I would encourage you both to view these visitors as a cautionary tale about proper parenting. " Violet said eyeing the two young women. "We have Barbarians descending upon us!" she announced theatrically.<p>

"Aren't you overreacting just a touch, Mama?" Rosamund asked.

"I never overreact," Violet snipped. Rosamund and Cora shared a look of disbelief. "And I'll pretend I didn't see that," the Countess added.

"I still don't understand how a visit from one little boy can warrant a strategy session," Rosamund said rolling her eyes. "Patrick is a sweet child, really he is. He's just a bit unruly."

"Unruly? He's positively lawless!" Violet exclaimed. "He has no discipline! He runs wild!"

"He's only three!" Rosamund cried barely keeping her voice at a respectable volume.

"That's the point," Violet growled. "Do you think he'll get easier to deal with when he's five, or eight, or ten? He'll be an absolute terror. It'll be a miracle if he stays out of prison."

"Mama!" Rosamund said. "He's just a little boisterous."

Violet's eyes narrowed. "Did he or did he not urinate into your drawing room fireplace the last time they visited you and Marmaduke in London?" she asked.

"Well, yes." Rosamund admitted. "His parents had been telling him about how careful you need to be around fire and he decided to try and put it out himself."

Violet sat back in her chair looking quite smug. "I believe you've just made my point." Cora was having trouble following the argument and her mother-in-law could tell. She set about providing the family's newest member with a little background information. "My nephew, James, and his wife, Andrea, have a son, Patrick, whom they have decided must do exactly as he likes at all times. It's some odd, new fangled, bohemian, free-range parenting which involves having a child and then releasing it on the unsuspecting populous with no concept of right or wrong, or the fact that decisions have consequences. They never scold him, never punish him, never even tell him he's done something wrong…"

"Andrea told me that she makes it a point to tell Patrick how perfect he is at least five times a day," Rosamund interjected.

"And just think of how he'll do with the ladies after another fifteen years of hearing that he's perfect and being allowed to urinate into fireplaces," Violet said with raised eyebrows. "My goodness, he'll have the social graces of a baboon." She shook her head and hoped her husband would stop inviting James and his family to spend Christmas at Downton well before then. "And then there's my sister-in-law, Enid, the most acerbic, imperious, haughty creature you'll ever meet. She's a sour-faced old bat that never met a person she couldn't speak ill of," Violet said.

Rosamund gave her mother a look. "You do realize that that 'sour-faced old bat' is only a few years older that you are," she teased.

"Then she wears those years very poorly indeed," Violet said striking a particularly dignified pose. Cora saw Rosamund put her hand to her mouth to cover her grin and Cora had to bite her lip to keep from laughing. "I don't know how someone can be that disagreeable," the Countess said with a huff. She set a withering stare upon her snickering daughter. "Are you quite finished?" she hissed. The two young women did there best to pull themselves together. "Honestly now, is that any way to treat your mother, Rosamund? You know very well that I'm as gentle as a lamb." she folded her arms in her lap and glanced at her daughter-in-law. The girl was smiling at her, but was far more demure and composed than her own daughter who stifled her guffaw with an unladylike snort. Lady Grantham started to think that possibly there were the glimmers of a future countess in _'that colonial interloper'_ and the idea brought a smile to her face.

"Thank you, I'll be sure to be on my guard," Cora told Violet with a smile. She had noticed Lady Grantham's smile and she thought that something she had done actually might have pleased her mother-in-law.

As quickly as it had appeared, Violet's smile vanished at the sound of Cora's accent. "You'd better be. I dare say you and Robert will be under siege when the Barbarians arrive," she said hoping that Enid would be relatively gentle with Robert's American bride… or, better yet, that the miserable creature would arrive suffering from laryngitis.


	36. Like Father, Like Son

Richard sat in his study listening to the sound of the chaos that comes when one combines a small, undisciplined child, a new and expansive place for said child to explore, and the one pound box of Christmas chocolates he'd stolen from the kitchen. There was a thud from somewhere upstairs and he could her his daughter Rosamund's voice raised in anger over Patricks giggles which travelled down the upstairs hall accompanying the thumps of little stomping feet. Lord Grantham put on his reading glasses and gathered some papers on his desk together so he looked busy in case his study was the next room to be invaded my the Dread Pirate Patrick, the Barbarian Prince. Yes, technically he was hiding from a three-year-old boy, but he could accept that embarrassing truth if it meant he didn't have to put up with the little terror. The whole family had been doing their best to avoid spending time with the youngest Crawley. Richard had holed himself up in his study. Violet had taken refuge in her bedroom. Robert had grumbled something about the greenhouse. Cora had disappeared somewhere as well, though that really wasn't surprising after what had transpired at breakfast.

Patrick had taken a nearly immediate dislike to Cora. Whether it was because Robert preferred to spend his time with her rather than playing with him or perhaps Enid had been wielding her influence Richard couldn't tell, but the boy's destain for Cora was obvious. It had first made its appearance the previous evening after dinner when he stood on the train of her gown and made her stumble into a table before yelling that he hated her. The poor girl had been shocked and hurt by the statement and Richard had been glad that Robert had wrapped her securely in his arms the way a loving, protective husband ought to hold his beloved wife when some little hooligan was antagonizing her to comfort her almost instantly. He smiled as he thought about how protective of Cora Robert was becoming. The couple's mutual affection for one another was, by now, as clear as day and Richard was convinced that the two would be quite happy together - he just prayed their children wouldn't be little hooligans, too. Of course, the current hooligan in residence was never told to apologize to Cora - he shouldn't have been allowed to eat in the dining room with the adults in the first place - but, as James had explain at length, he was raising a leader and, in his opinion, "a leader holds the reins from birth." Richard had been tempted to make a comment about the virtue of moderation versus the vice of excess, but he chose to refrain from opening the family's old wounds before his guests had been there at least a full day. Violet had grumbled something about ancient Rome, but he knew she was not one to keep opinions to herself and he very much enjoyed her strength, fiestiness, and biting wit. He knew a communication breakdown between the families would happen soon if they kept up like this, though. Robert could only see 'his Cora' mistreated so many times before his temper got the better of him. What was that American saying they derived from that mangled form of cricket they play? Three strikes, you're out.

_The second strike had come this morning when Patrick had, once again, unexpectedly joined them for a meal. Cora and Violet had both come down for breakfast rather than staying in bed. He had a feeling that it was at Rosamund's request. She always came down for breakfast with her father and brother even after she'd been married and Richard thought that perhaps that morning she'd wanted the two women of Downton Abbey as a buffer against James and the potential intrusion of the untamable Patrick. Patrick had already been playing under the table in the dining room when Richard arrived even though he'd arrived early - so early that there had still been one nervous looking maid milling around the room when he'd walked in - and everyone had been seated and in conversation by the time Robert and Cora made their way down to the dining room hand in hand just as the food was being brought in. _

_The only seats available had been between James and Patrick and Robert had determined that placing his wife beside Patrick, who would surely be difficult at the very best, was still preferable to sitting her next to his cousin who was known for having a wandering eye and, when the opportunity presented itself at a social function, wandering hands whether or not the lady seated or standing beside him and receiving his attentions appreciated them in the least. He vividly remembered the night of James and Andrea's engagement party when his cousin had raised his glass and toasted his future bride with one hand while unfastening a few buttons on the back of her sister's dress and slipping his other hand inside to feel around a little her as she clung in desperation to her husband's arm and passed her tears off as ones of joy for Andrea's future happiness. He'd been disgusted and ashamed to be related to James that night and things had never been the same between them thereafter. He certainly wouldn't trust him within arm's length of his Cora and he'd been putting himself between the two of them since his cousin's arrival. "Oh what a shame," James said in a tone that made Robert's jaw clench. "I had hoped to have the honor of my lovely, foreign cousin's company." The smarmy smile on James' face had made Cora uncomfortable and she'd taken a step back from him without realizing it. _

_"Is it so surprising that Robert prefers to monopolize her time?" Violet had mused without looking up from adding two sugar cubes to her tea and stirring it slowly. "He's very possessive of her around men. He doesn't want anyone grabbing his charming wife…" Violet had paused as she took a quick sip, "… away from him." The room had fallen suddenly silent and every adult in the room had frozen in place at the boldness of Violet's statement except for Cora who'd looked at Robert in confusion as they'd remained standing by their seats. "How is Andrea this fine morning?" Violet had asked finally looking up from her cup as if nothing at all had been implied by the rhythm of her speech. _

_James' conversation had faltered a bit as he got up and gathered his son in his arms to get the boy his breakfast, but things had gotten back to normal well before they'd turned to return to Patrick's seat. The child had been holding a bowl of porridge fixed just the way he liked it. Patrick, then sitting on his father's shoulder, had been delighted that he was the tallest person in the room. As he'd passed Cora, who was much shorter than James to begin with, he'd towered over her. He'd looked down at her, tipped his bowl, and poured porridge down the front of her dress making her shriek. "Go away! I still don't like you!" he'd yapped as Robert stood slack jawed next to his upset, whimpering, much adored wife trying to determine how, or whether, a husband helps clean up porridge spilled down his wife's cleavage when that spill occurs in the presence of others. _

_"Patrick," James had said firmly, "you'll never grow up to be a big, strong, important man if you waste all you food."_

_"James!" Violet had snapped. "What about what he's done to poor Cora?"_

_The young father had been completely unmoved. "He gave a reason for his actions. He thinks it was justified."_

_"Even a madman thinks his actions are justified," Robert had snarled at his cousin._

_Cora had remained silent. She had been completely humiliated and had sunk down into her chair as she looked at the mess Patrick had made of her and tried to figure out where to begin to clean herself up at least enough to go upstairs and not leave a trail of lukewarm, sticky porridge in her wake. She didn't think that her breakfast could possibly get worse. All of a sudden she'd felt something cold underneath her. Icy cold and very wet. She'd realized that someone had put something on her chair and she'd just sat herself on top of it. The fridged liquid had soaked through the seat of her skirt and all the layers of her underclothes. Her eyes had opened wider, _her lips had slowly parted in shock, _and she'd given a half suppressed whimper as she leapt up to stand between Robert and James. Robert's concern had eclipsed his anger at his cousin's laissez faire parenting as soon as he saw how unhappy his Cora was. "What's wrong, my darling," he'd asked her gently. He followed her gaze to the seat of her chair and the sponge that had been placed there._

_"There was a wet sponge on my chair," she'd said softly, "and I sat down on it." Robert had wanted to hold her close but thought that she might be made even more uncomfortable by having all that porridge that had gotten down the front of her dress squishing against her. He thought about pointing out that at least it was only water she'd sat in, but he decided that drawing attention to what was making her so uncomfortable didn't seem like a good idea. He'd been at a complete lose about what he could do to make her feel better so he stood watching her tug at her wet skirt in a vain attempt to keep it from clinging to her bottom trying to look as sympathetic as possible. He'd known better than to try to do anything involving that particular problem for fear of embarrassing his wife further. A hand on her bottom would hardly have been apriciated no matter how the gesture had been intended, of that _he'd been quite certain_._

_Little Patrick had laughed raucously and James had barely been able to hold back a smile. "You have to admit my boy is clever," he'd said tousling his son's hair. That comment had reignited Robert's fury, but before he'd been able to say or do anything, Cora had darted out of the room holding the back of her skirt to try to camouflage the dark wet spot on her bottom after murmuring an apology._

Another crash could be heard upstairs as Patrick continued to wreak havoc and Richard now heard his wife trying to restore order. He tensed when there was a knock on the door of his study. The Lord gave an obvious sigh of relief when Carson, the butler, entered the room. "Yes, Carson," Richard said with a weary look.

Carson's expression was as unemotional as ever, but something about him seemed unusually harried. "Her Ladyship has requested your assistance upstairs, My Lord," he said in his usual tone.

"Did she give me a warning… I mean … uh… did she say anything else regarding the nature of her problem," Richard asked.

The butler looked momentarily uncomfortable. "Well, she did say more, but it didn't address the nature of her problem per se," he told Lord Grantham. Richard nodded for him to continue. "Sir, I don't think I can repeat…"

"Go on, Carson." Richard pressed. "I assure you that, after more than thirty years of marriage, I'm quite familiar with the more 'colorful' aspects of Her Ladyship's vocabulary."

Carson sighed and then went on. "Her Ladyship asks that you go upstairs and help her get young Patrick, whom she refers to as that "wretched little ape", under control. She has informed me that, if you refuse, I am to put another blanket on the bed in your dressing room because 'you and your libido will be spending the winter there'."

Richard was up out of his chair and at the door faster than the young butler thought possible for a man of his age. He opened the door for the Lord and watched him hurry up the stairs to offer Violet whatever assistance he could to avoid exile.


	37. Not Their Kind of Person

"That will be all for now, Emily, thank you," Cora said as she leaned back in the tub. "I just want to sit here and enjoy the warmth for a few minutes."

"Yes, M'lady. I'll be right outside so you can call me when you need me." Emily said before leaving Cora alone with her thoughts. After the door closed behind the maid, the young viscountess sighed deeply. Christmas was days away and she could not have been more homesick, if that was still the term she could use. Downton Abbey was supposed to be her home now. She'd been married to Robert for eight months and she'd figured his home would have at least started to feel like hers too by this point, but it hadn't. It didn't feel like her home at all. These people didn't feel like her family. There was no one that loved her here. No one. The family, even her mother-in-law, seemed to have become used to her presence in their midst, and Lord Grantham and Rosamund were always warm and friendly with her, but she got the feeling that, if she were replaced by someone else, they'd behave just the same way as they did with her now. They might not even notice the change and, if the girl were of the English nobility, it would probably be seen as a great improvement on things. This was a very impersonal sort of arrangement she felt she had with everyone around her and it was wearing on her. They socialized with Robert's wife - the idea of her and what she was in relation to them - but they rarely dealt with Cora as a person, as the young woman she was. They didn't seem interested in that.

She lifted her left hand out of the water and looked at the wedding band that encircled her ring finger. She probably should've taken it off before bathing, but she felt uncomfortable removing it so she almost never did. She blinked away a tear and dropped her hand back under the water and making a splash. What sentimental foolishness! It was only a ring. There wasn't any feeling accompanying it. There hadn't been when it had been given to her and there wasn't much of any represented by it now. Granted, she and Robert had grown much closer - maybe she could even call them friends at this point - and he clearly found her attractive and desirable, but the affectionate attachment - the real love - she had tried so hard to spark in her husband didn't seem to have materialized the way she'd been so sure it would this time the year before when she'd been preparing for her wedding and her new life with her distance but handsome husband. For all she knew his heart could have belonged to that Melissa woman for the whole of the time she'd known him and all of her efforts had never had a chance of succeeding. He could've been longing for that Melissa when he'd taken Cora into his arms after Gregory passed away and told her that he needed her. When he'd been lying in bed with her in their honeymoon suite. When he'd first kissed her in the backyard of her friend's Newport home during a party after he'd asked her to come back to England with him and finished the process of capturing her heart he'd unknowingly begun the first time he'd spoken to her.

She missed having friends - real friends - and she missed Christmas the way it had been before she was married. When she was still living at home and the people around her valued her for who she was and not what she could provide them with. She missed ice skating with her cousins, and hot chocolate, and the party games they played together on Christmas Eve, and everything that made a holiday in her home enjoyable. All of that was gone now. In her husband's home, with her husband's family, she was just another ornament to be occasionally commented upon, but never really taken notice of.

At least there was some kindness shown her. The family wasn't as cold as they used to be and even her mother-in-law had been taking it a little easier on her. She'd even let her stay upstairs through luncheon and dinner the day before as well as that day's luncheon because of Patrick's behavior at breakfast the day before, but she knew that skipping another dinner would be pushing it. She'd have to face them all again whether she was ready to or not. Cora was jarred from this melancholy train of thought by a commotion in her bedroom. "Is everything alright, Emily?" she called.

* * *

><p>Downstairs in the library, James was tiring of what he saw as Robert's self-torturing nature. "You've gotten what you needed from her, Robert. I don't know why you're getting so tense about it. All I did was ask if she was as pretty naked as she is dressed."<p>

Robert scowled. "No, you said you'd like to see if she's as pretty naked as she is dressed," he grumbled.

"She's an attractive woman, Robert, of course I'd like to see her naked!" James exclaimed as he lowered his 5 o'clock whiskey from his lips. "You really need to stop being so puritanical about these things. Marriage is more flexible for our kind of people. You shouldn't limit yourself the way you do. You need to live a little."

"And your definition of living means abandoning the love I feel for my wife to dabble in the charms of other women?" Robert asked coldly.

"Oh, Robert, be serious. You can't possibly be telling me that you have any feelings for that shopkeeper's daughter you brought home." James said dismissively. "Please, your duty to her doesn't include having to love her, just keeping her fed, clothed, and housed. You needn't go sacrificing you happiness just because your family needed a little money."

Robert was doing his best to hold his temper. "Cora is an heiress, not just some shopkeeper's daughter…" he tried to explain, but his cousin interrupted.

"So her father was a very successful shopkeeper. It makes no difference. You're still taking this marriage too seriously." James muttered draining his glass before going to refill it.

"So, you would have me believe that my marrying Cora has no real consequences?" Robert asked in disbelief. "No adjustments to my lifestyle? No considerations made for her hopes or her feelings?"

"In essence, yes," James replied. He put the crystal stopper back on the decanter and turned to face his incredulous and defensive cousin. "Consequences, as I see them, are very middle class. We're above nearly all of that. The rules bend for the rule making class and luck is always on our side. No matter what tragedy befalls the population as a whole, we always float through it and survive unscathed. We have for a thousand years or more and we will continue to do so. It's just how things are. That's why I'm raising Patrick as I am. He's learning to take every pleasure life provides because they are his by the virtue of his birth without punishing himself needlessly by following rules he's exempt from."

Robert remain unconvinced at best. "Where is the little bon vivant, anyway? Terrorizing the kitchen staff again?" he asked desperately trying to change the subject of this seemingly unending conversation.

"He's actually quite upset this morning. It seems Horatio has gone missing. He absolutely inconsolable. I'm sure he and the nursery staff are on a quest to find him." James said as he returned to his seat.

"Horatio?" Robert questioned.

"Patrick's pet frog. He escaped from his little terrarium after luncheon and the boy has been searching high and low for him," James said. "He loves that little frog, I have no idea why. It's such a common thing. The whole situation sort reminds me of you and Cora, actually, a man of importance fussing over something he could easily replace with something more suited to his station." James said with a cruel grin. "She's another amusing, common little thing."

"Have you told anyone else about Patrick's missing pet?" Robert asked refusing to be baited into another discussion about how inferior his cousin thought Cora was. "Surely the rest of the household should be made aware."

James gave a sly grin. "I've been holding out hope that Auntie Violet is the one to discover him purely for the entertainment value of her reaction," he chuckled. The calm was broken by a scream from upstairs. "It sounds like I'm going to get my wish," James said getting up.

Robert was already at the door. "That wasn't Mama, it was Cora," he called back to he cousin as they rushed through the main hall and began to climb the stairs.

"You'd know her scream anywhere I take it," James said in a tone that made Robert want to punch his cousin square in the nose. "At least she's good for something."

Robert turned to face his cousin, his desire to punch him in the face having increased in intensity. He clenched his fists but managed to leave them at his sides. "That's enough. Cora is a wonderful woman who makes me very happy. Happier than I've ever been actually. I've had about all I can take of hearing her demeaned by the likes of you. I love her and whether or not you think it's a waste of my time or not, I'm quite content to have her, and only her, by my side for the rest of my life." Cora shrieked again and Robert rushed up to her bedroom leaving James standing on the stairs thinking how silly his cousin was being.

When Robert walked into the bathroom, he had to take a moment to collect his thoughts and try to control his body's reaction to the sight before him. Cora was on her knees in the corner of the room. She held one end of a big towel to her chest to cover herself and left the other end in a heap between her knees. Water dripped off of her arms and trailed down her thighs. She apparently hadn't had time to wrap the towel around herself before he'd rushed in. The way she said his name made him want to shoo the maid out of the room and take Cora right then and there on the wet floor, but he was able to restrain himself for the moment. She raised her arm and pointed to the tub timidly. Robert tried to ignore that her gesture had allowed the towel to slip down and partially reveal one of her breasts. He took one of the pails the maid had used to bring up the water and then cautiously approached the tub and carefully scooped up the little frog who was swimming lazily along without a care in the world. He laid a towel over the top of the pail and walked into Cora's bedroom where Carson was fidgeting anxiously. "Take this to Patrick. He'll be very pleased to have his pet back," he said. He then turned to Emily. "Please prepare us another bath. We could use a little time to relax." Emily went off and did as she was told and tried not to think about the fact that he had said it was for the both of them. Robert came back to Cora and draped his jacket over her shoulders before helping her up. They lay together in the bed in his dressing room until Emily knocked and let them know their bath was ready. "Thank you, that will be all, Emily," Robert replied before turing to Cora. "Shall we, my darling?" he asked with a smile.

* * *

><p>Soon they were lying in the warm water holding each other. Cora had been quite cold and Robert was making sure she was warming up. He pressed a kiss to her forehead and she looked up at him with a weak smile. "What's the matter, angel?" he asked quietly.<p>

"I can't resist you," she replied and slumped against him.

He tightened his hold around her waist. "I'm glad," he said teasingly. "I'd be a miserable, lonely man if you could." He paused and then continued more seriously. "Have you wanted to resist? I've always tried not to pressure you. dearest." He reached up and caressed her cheek.

What could she say to him when he was trying so hard to make her happy? She couldn't tell him that all of his efforts weren't enough. "No, Robert, your wonderful. I'm just missing Christmas at home, I mean in America." she said wishing that the conversation would be over. It wasn't.

"What can I do to help?"he asked as he massaged her back.

"I miss going ice skating and having hot chocolate," she said. She couldn't tell him all of what had her so upset. He was likely to get angry with her. She had no right to expect or demand any emotion from him. She should've been content with whatever she got in that department.

"I can't skate." Robert said firmly.

"Is that against the rules here, too," Cora grumbled more to herself than to Robert.

"No I mean I can't skate. I fall over. One minute I'm standing, and then the next I'm not, and then I stay that way until everyone else is done skating and someone finally takes pity on me and tows me to a bench," Robert explained as his wife giggled. Just then, when she looked up into his eyes, he knew he had to tell her how he felt. He had to tell her right then. He didn't care that it would seem like nothing more than lust with them lying naked in the tub like that. He had to tell her he loved her. "Cora. Cora my darling, you know all I want is to see you happy. You know I adore you. Well, I guess what I'm trying to say is that I l…"

She'd stopped him mid-sentence with a kiss because she was convinced he'd never say what she wanted to hear and she couldn't bear to listen to him come so close but stop just short of the word 'love'. Not then. Not when she felt as bad as she did. As their kisses intensified and he moved on top of her putting gentle pressure on her legs until she parted them obligingly, she tried to pretend that there was more than physical attraction and their friendly sort of relationship behind his actions.


	38. Wounded

After dinner coffee for the ladies was usually the most difficult part of Cora's day because it put her in the drawing room with Violet and without her husband and her father-in-law to act as buffers for her against Violet's sharp words. It had gotten a little easier when Rosamund had arrived, but now all of them were under siege with the arrival of Enid Crawley, the wife of Richard's late brother George. She had been at Downton Abbey for three days and Cora had yet to discover one thing that pleased her with the possible exception of being mercilessly unkind to practically everyone. She made Violet look meek by comparison. The miserable woman in black had focused her critical eye on Cora that evening and she held absolutely nothing back. She had called her everything from a commoner to an invader to a prostitute and she showed no sign of letting up. "Surely Robert could've found a better New York society tart to stave off bankruptcy. At else he could've gotten himself a smarter one and then at least your grand children might have had some sense in them, Violet." she said staring Cora down.

Cora didn't respond. She was practically shell shocked by the verbal barrage of insults launched against her. She didn't understand what had motivated Robert's aunt to say such horrible things about her. They'd barely spoken to each other and Cora had been on her best behavior. She was certain she hadn't done anything that would have angered the woman. Rosamund realized her aunt's words had found their mark. She patted Cora's hand and tried to get her to ignore Enid's viciousness. "Oh, Cora, don't pay any attention to that heartless viper. She's just cruel. Cruel and cowardly. She'd never say those things if Papa or Robert were here."

"All I've done is love Robert," Cora said softly, almost to herself. Her lip trembled, but she wouldn't give this woman the satisfaction of seeing her cry. She longed for Robert's embrace.

"What was that, girl? Speak up!" Enid snapped.

Cora straightened up in her chair and looked the older woman in the eye. She would not crumble in front of someone like this. She was better than that. "All I have done is love Robert," she said with conviction. Such and announcement was quite unheard of in such a setting and shocked everyone with the possible exception of Rosamund, who smiled brightly.

Before Enid could reply an unexpected ally relied to her defense after the shock of Enid's brutal words had dulled. "Have you no shame or basic manners left? I'd prefer if you didn't spout such scandalous falsehoods about my daughter-in-law, Enid," Violet said sternly. "It only serves to make to you sound uninformed and generally unkind. If I here this nonsense from anyone else, I'll know you are to blame for it. Cora hasn't done anything to deserve your scorn or this attack on her character."

"Her presence in this house is enough," Enid snarled, "thought it's no surprise you defend Robert's bartered beauty given your own history and reputation." Her snarl turned into a malicious grin. "Rosamund is so like you. It's a shame she doesn't have more of Richard in her."

"My family will not be discussed in this manner and certainly not under my roof! That's final!" Violet roared. "I don't know where you get your gossip but trafficking in this gutter filth is below you and I don't appreciate you sullying my drawing room with such vile rubbish!" She and Enid stared each other down for a long, silent, tension filled moment. Carson took the opportunity to alert Lord Grantham to the battle about to break out in the drawing room. Hopefully the gentlemen would see fit to join the ladies a little early in and attempt to broker a truce. The challenge was how to make the request tactfully. After all, it would do no good to accidentally insult the wife of the man who had yet to say whether he wanted this stern, young butler to remain in his employ. Carson took a deep breath to steady himself before entering the dining room.

His sudden appearance got Lord Grantham's attention. "Yes, Carson, is it time to join our ladies already?" he said reaching for his pocket watch. "It's a little early, isn't it?"

"Yes, My Lord, but…" Carson was interrupted by the faint sound of a woman's voice raised in anger. A voice with an American accent. Robert stood anxiously.

"I see. Gentlemen, I think it's best that we rejoin the ladies directly." Lord Grantham announced as he lead the men to the door to follow the butler to the drawing room with his son right behind him.

None of the women noticed the men as they entered the drawing room. They were too focused on the spectacle before them. Cora was taking Enid to task not for the vile comment's about her but for her implications and insinuations about her husband and his family. It was an unbelievable show of loyalty from a woman who felt so little affection had been granted her in return, though she insisted in her comments to Enid that they cared for her very much. Robert was filled with pride, and love, and a little guilt as he watched Cora defend him and his family so fiercely. He couldn't help but wonder if they would have done the same for her. He knew he would without a second thought. She was the woman he loved. He crossed the room to stand by her side as she told his aunt that she was honored to be a member of his family. He couldn't help but think that he was the one who should feel honored that she would endure the separation, isolation, confusion, heartache, and constant criticism she had experienced since her arrival to try to build a life with him. He felt nothing short of blessed to have accidentally stumbled upon this girl, who he now was convinced was the love of his life.

"Lady Grantham is the most admirable, gracious, charitable woman I have ever had the good fortune to know. From what I have witnessed, she is the best countess this community could have ever hoped for and I hope that one day she might have a reason to be proud of me. I don't know how you can make such baseless claims about such a noble person," Cora said finishing her condemnation. No one said a word. This lack of reaction made her uncomfortable and she was starting to think of what it might mean when she felt someone take her hand. She turned and found herself gazing to her husband's handsome face. His smile was all she needed to put her at ease.

"Well, I think we've had all the excitement we can handle for one evening," Richard said "I think we'll retire for the night." He wanted to get all the details of the encounter from Violet. He also thought his son would be impatient to get his wife upstairs. From the way they were looking at each other, he figured Cora wouldn't be too unhappy about it either.

As the party slowly made their way to the stairs and Lord Grantham disappeared down the hall for a moment, the hum of conversation was broken by the giggles of a child as Patrick came barreling down the stairs in his pajamas and wearing the frilly cravat and hat from his pirate costume. This time he was wielding a long hatpin instead of his usual toy sword. Before anyone to slow him down there was a scream. Cora clutched her hand to her chest and Robert produced a handkerchief to try and tend to the long, deep cut she'd just received thanks to Patricks carelessness.

The little boy dropped the hatpin immediately and went as pale as a ghost. He hadn't meant to hurt anyone. He hadn't even been trying to point it in anyone's direction because his Mama had taken him aside once when his father was't looking and said that if he ran around pointing sharp things at people, bad things would happen. He had only taken the hatpin in the first place because the decorated end of it looked like the hilt of a real pirate sword instead of his plain, boring wooden one. He'd wanted to show off his pretend fencing skills, that was all, but as he'd run past his cousin's wife the pin had caught the back of her hand and before he knew what to do, she yanked her hand back and he'd ended up cutting her quite badly. He stood frozen watching the commotion around her as drops of blood hit the rug all the while wracked with guilt because this was his fault. He heard someone tell the butler to send for the doctor.

Robert approached the child with fury. "Do you see what you've done?!" he shouted.

"I'm s…s… sorry," the boy sniffled. He looked behind Robert to try to say something to his unintended victim. "I'm sorry, Cousin Cora, I'm sorry," he pleaded. She just looked warily at him with sad, pale blue eyes. Robert went back to her and wrapped his arms around her protectively. Tears started to run down Patrick's cheeks.

James was getting indignant. "There's no need to intimidate him, Robert, he's apologized. Why upset the boy," he said firmly. His wife, Andrea, said nothing as usual but looked at her husband with a mix of disapproval and nervousness that there would be another argument that evening. Everyone else was less guarded in expressing their disapproval of his comments and Robert least among them. He was angrier than he ever remembered being. His arrogant, self indulgent cousin and his spoilt, obnoxious son had done nothing but bring his wife unhappiness since they'd arrived and this incident was the last straw.

Violet sensed that and altercation was imminent and carefully guided Cora out of her husband's arms and lead her quickly up the stairs to await the doctor. It would do no good to have her clinging to Robert if the situation devolved into fisticuffs. She could wind up as collateral damage and she didn't think Robert would be able to live with himself if she were hurt because of him. Cora resisted her mother-in-law pulling her away from Robert and pushing her up the stairs at first and even after she'd allowed herself to be lead to her room, she kept looking back. "Loyal to a fault," the Countess said softly and smiled to herself as the two walked down the hall.

Robert approached his cousin. "Upset him? He's caused my wife to require medical care, and you're worried that I might upset him? Do you even hear how completely stupid and callous you sound?" Robert sneered. "Your little hellion has drawn blood for Pete's sake! He's a little monster and I can hardly be expected to be considerate of his feelings when he antagonizes my beloved wife for his own amusement."

James rolled his eyes and scoffed. "Here you go about Cora again. Your just like a child with a new toy, that's all. You'll get bored with her in no time. You'l be back to your senses soon enough"

"What's wrong with her?" Robert growled. He was inches from his cousin's face. One false move or statement out of him and Robert was ready to knock James flat on his back.

"Gentlemen, that's enough!" Richard roared rushing back into the main hall to stand between the two angry young men. "My goodness! I take a quick trip to the loo and by the time I get back you boy are about to turn our family dinner party into a bare knuckle boxing match." As Lord Grantham and Marmaduke continued to pull Robert and James apart, everyone failed to notice that Patrick was gone. The boy's nurse had made her way back to the nursery to try to tidy up a bit once she'd seen the boy was with his father. She could never get him back to the nursery once he was with James. The father would bring him there soon enough. Since he was always allowed to do what he pleased, the nurse had become lax in her duties and now no one even knew that he was missing.


	39. Healing

Carson was waiting for the footman he'd sent to fetch Dr. Lennox to return when he heard something rustling about in the cupboard under the servants' stairway. Quickly and quietly he grabbed a broom and crept to the cupboard door. There would be no rats on his watch, that was for sure. After a moment of waiting in silence he threw open the door and raised the broom over his head. He was lucky he had such good reflexes or he would have struck His Lordship's visiting nephew who he had mistaken for a rodent invader.. The little boy squeaked in fear and curled up into the fetal position as he continued the crying that had apparently already been under way. "What on Earth are you doing in here?" Carson asked.

"I'm a little monster," Patrick sniffed.

Carson held out his had to the weeping child. "Well, you look more like a boy to me. A little boy who needs some hot cocoa. Come on." he said as he helped Patrick to his feet and walked him to the kitchen.

"What's this then?" the assistant cook Beryl Patmore asked when the butler and the smallest of His Lordship's visiting relatives came wandering into her kitchen.

"This young gentleman is convinced he's a little monster but I think he's a little boy. I thought we could have some cocoa and try to get to the bottom of this." Carson said with just a hint of a smile.

"I see," Beryl said with mock seriousness. "Cocoa coming right up."

* * *

><p>Cora could not believe what was occurring. Her mother-in-law, the fearsome and ferocious Lady Grantham, who had been quite dismissive of Cora when she'd first arrived, had taken her upstairs to wait for Dr. Lennox and, after ringing for Emily, had started to gently remove the ornaments from her hair and help her with her jewelry and gloves, one of which was completely ruined and looked quite gruesome indeed. It didn't seem to shake Violet though, who was exuding a level of caring that could be described as nothing short of maternal. Cora hadn't been mothered like that since she had left America to start her life with Robert, and experiencing it again from such an unlikely source nearly moved her to tears. The Countess finished unpinning Cora's hair and gently stroked her head before taking a ribbon from the dressing table and tying back her long dark hair. "Thank you, Lady Grantham," she said with a voice that betrayed her emotions much to her embarrassment.<p>

Violet rubbed Cora's shoulder affectionately. "Think nothing of it, my dear. It's the least I could do after your stunning display of loyalty downstairs. I think it was the first time I've ever seen that insufferable, old bat speechless in my life. Well done on that." The two women shared a laugh as Violet turned to go. "I'll leave you to rest now. Emily should be up any minute and the doctor should be here shortly." She walked to the door and then turned back to the young woman who had defended her and her family so strongly. "Cora, I know that your defense of our family was mostly for Robert's sake, but I thank you, without irony, from the bottom of my heart."

Cora was stunned. "You're welcome, Lady Grantham. I did what I could for friends in need."

"We're family, my dear," Violet corrected, "which is a bond far stronger than any friendship."

Cora looked a little taken aback. "Still, I hope that one day you might see fit to count me among your friends," Cora said with a touch of pleading in her voice.

"Well, let's not get ahead of ourselves," Violet said with a gentle smile.

"Yes, Lady Grantham," Cora said looking a bit more disappointed than she had meant to.

"Lady Grantham? That's rather formal isn't it? Surely, as family, we can address each other in a more casual manner. That is if it's alright with you," Violet said. Cora nodded. "I suppose you could call me Violet or…" the Countess paused as a smile spread across her lips, "possibly Mama?" Violet left the room as Emily entered leaving Cora smiling brightly in her wake.

* * *

><p>In the kitchen, Patrick was just finishing his hot cocoa. Carson got close and stared at him intensely and made the child giggle, especially when he wiggled one eyebrow. "Beryl, I think we have our answer," the butler announced. "This is definitely a little boy."<p>

"Absolutely," the assistant cook said with a smile. "Everybody knows monsters hate hot cocoa."

"So, what could make a little fellow like yourself think that you were a monster?" Carson asked gently.

"I hurt Cousin Cora," the little boy said with a heavy, guilt-ridden sigh. "I didn't mean to but I did. Now no one likes me."

"A monster never hurts someone by accident," Carson replied. "Little boys make mistakes, but smart little boys learn from them." Carson continued, as best as a butler could, to argue in favor of rules and manners without openly contradicting Patrick's libertine father.

* * *

><p>The doctor had arrived and was already upstairs with Cora when Robert walked into her bedroom. He sat by her side and she leaned against him. "What's the verdict?" he asked as he gently stroked his wife's hair.<p>

"Five stitches. If she's diligent in caring for the wound, it shouldn't scar too noticeably." Dr. Lennox said. "She's an excellent patient."

"She is excellent, full stop," Robert said as she looked up lovingly at him. He kissed her cheek and she nestled further into him. He placed another kiss on her lips. Robert was about to deepen that kiss when the doctor cleared his throat loudly and gave the young man a look. "I've given her something for the pain and she should stay in bed for the night. Have they found the missing child yet?" Dr. Lennox asked, "I'm more than willing to stay and help you look for him."

"Missing child?" Cora asked.

Robert gave an exasperated sigh. "Patrick's run off and no one can find him. I swear that boy delights in causing trouble. Don't trouble yourself about it, my dearest one, I'm sure we find him soon. How far could he possibly have gotten on those little legs of his? He's just being difficult, I'm sure of it." Robert said as he stood and pressed a kiss to her forehead. "Doctor, your assistance would be greatly appreciated, thank you." The two men went off to join the search leaving Cora to rest. They went downstairs and met the rest of the family in the main hall where they decided who would look where before splitting up to go looking for the missing boy.

* * *

><p>"Do you feel better now?" Carson asked Patrick who had convinced Beryl to take out some left over chocolate cake and was sharing it with her and his new friend the butler.<p>

"Yes," Patrick said nibbling on a bit of cake, "but I think I should apologize to Cousin Cora before bed."

"Oh, that's a good idea, Patrick," Beryl said. "It's never a good idea to go to sleep when there's something left unresolved that can be resolved."

"Very sound advice indeed," a very distinctive voice commented. The assistant cook and the butler leapt to there feet as Lady Grantham appeared in the doorway. "Oh, am I interrupting a party?" she asked eyeing the cake and the boy devouring a sizable slice of it.

"I found the lad crying in a cupboard and I thought some cocoa and cake might help to soothe him, Your Ladyship," Carson said nervously. "He was very shaken by way happened with Lady Downtown."

"I'm so sorry, Your Ladyship, I never meant…" Beryl shook as she spoke, but Violet dismissed her concerns.

"There was no wrong done here," Violet assured her. "To be quite honest, I'm pleased to hear that he was down here all evening instead of wandering about in the dark and the cold." She turned her attention to her nephew. "Everyone is very worried about you, Patrick. You've given us all a terrible fright," she said gently patting the boy on the shoulder. "What do you say to Carson and I bringing you back upstairs to put everyone's worries at ease?"

"Cousin Robert wouldn't worry about me," Patrick said sadly. "He thinks I'm a monster."

Violet sighed. "Your cousin Robert gets very cross when he thinks someone is mistreating his wife. He cares about her very much. He was upset with you, but when you went missing he was concerned for you just like everyone else. I'm sure Cousin Cora is worried too. Let's go up and let everyone know you're alright." The boy nodded his approval and climbed off the chair. Violet thanked the assistant cook and let Patrick lead the way up the servants' staircase as she walked with the butler. "You have quite a way with children, Mr Carson, I hope you don't have a woman somewhere waiting to make you a family man and steal you away from us," she said gently teasing him. She was surprised that her comments seemed to hurt him. "I'm sorry, Mr. Carson. I didn't mean to open any old wounds."

"I have no sweetheart, My Lady. Young Patrick reminded me of my nephew. He was about Patrick's age when I left for the army. He was a wonderful boy. About two years into my service, there was a fire at the home my parents shared with my brother - my only surviving sibling - and his family. My brother got my parents out and then went back for the others. The roof collapsed and they all were lost." The butler suddenly realized to whom he was speaking and he apologized profusely for this lapse in protocol. Violet responded with a social faux pas of her own. She gently rested a hand on his arm. "Carson, there is no harm done whatsoever." They walked in silence up to the green baize door. Carson held it open for Lady Grantham and she turned to him. "You have a home here if you'd like as long as I have a say in things, Carson. You're good for Downton," Violet said with a smile as she took Patrick by the hand and brought him over to his uncle and cousin.

"There you are, Patrick, we've been looking all over for you," Richard said. Robert just looked at the child and Rosamund went to call back the rest of the search party.

James and his wife rushed into the hall just as Patrick started to climb the stairs. "Where are you off to, son?" he called up to the little boy.

"I have to apologize to Cousin Cora," he answered without looking back. Robert started to follow him, but Violet stopped him and gave him a look.

"But why? Surely that can be worked out in the morning," James said meeting the vicious look Robert was giving him with one of his own.

"A man has to do what he has to do, Papa, I have to do this now," the boy replied as he disappeared down the hall. Even Robert cracked a smile.

* * *

><p>Patrick's steps slowed as he approached Cora's bedroom and he started to get nervous. He thought she might yell at him. He started to open the door, but then remembered what his Papa had said about his Mama's bedroom door - that he had to knock especially at night. He thought that my apply to Cousin Cora's room too, so he let go of the knob, gently knocked, and waited until a soft voice bid him enter.<p>

Cora had sat up when she heard the door start to open thinking it might be Robert. The last person she expected to see walk in was Patrick and she tensed at the sight of him. Her tension melted when she so how timid and unsure he was. "Hello, Patrick," she said. "what brings you here?"

He slowly walked to the edge of her bed. "I wanted to apologize for hurting, Cousin Cora. I didn't mean it. It was an accident."

"Apology accepted," Cora said with a smile. "We all make mistakes."

"It was a mistake. I'm sorry," Patrick said with his head lowered. Eventually, he dared to raise his eyes to look at the woman lying in the bed. "Did the doctor make you better?" he asked hopefully.

"Well, he gave me stitches and some medicine and told me to stay in bed until tomorrow." Cora replied. She could see that that was not what the little boy had hoped to hear.

"Are you sick?" he asked with great concern.

"No," she replied smiling sweetly at him, "just tired."

"Then I'll tell you a bedtime story," Patrick announced and clambered up into bed with her while making sure to be mindful of her injured hand and cuddling in close. He stretched his arm over her stomach as he began to weave a tale of the lonely Prince Robert, the beautiful Cora, daughter of a sultan from a distant land, who longed to find her true love, and the daring pirate captain Patrick who, along with his first mate Carson, united the two lovers after many adventures. As she listened to the boy's story, she wondered just how obvious her desire for the love of her husband was to everyone around her. As the story came to an end, he'd barely gotten the words "happily ever after" out of his mouth before he snuggled into her and drifted off to sleep with his head pillowed on her chest.

That was the sight that greeted Robert when he strode into his wife's bedroom anxious to be alone with her at last. "Oh what is this now?" he groaned. "What is _he_ doing in here?"

"He told me a bedtime story and put himself to sleep in the process. It was the sweetest thing," Cora cooed softly as she gazed down at him. When she looked up at her husband and saw his pout, she giggled. "Are you jealous?" she teased.

He looked at Patrick lying there with his head on her chest and his arm resting just below her breasts. "Yes," he replied. "That's where I'm supposed to sleep."

"Well," Cora said thinking things over, "your silly aristocratic rules dictate that you're supposed to sleep next door in your dressing room."

"You said yourself that those are silly rules," he said as he carefully picked the boy up. He brought him to the nursery and tucked him into bed with the help of his nurse. After saying a quick hello to Horatio, who was safely contained in his terrarium and seemed happy enough, Robert returned to Cora's room and was finally able to climb into bed with her at last. He was very careful of her injury as he took her into his arms. "I was so proud of you this evening," he said and kissed her cheek. "The way you stood up to Aunt Enid was incredible. I've never seen anyone but Mama handle her nonsense like that."

Cora kissed his lips. "I'll take that as a compliment," she said with a smile.

He looked down at her. He could see she was exhausted so he stopped jostling her around so she could settle down for sleep. As she slipped into her dreams clinging to the man loved so dearly, she heard her husband murmur "I adore you, my treasure."

* * *

><p>AN - The Violet/Cora scene was inspired by antigone - particularly a comment made weeks ago in which she used the "without irony" quote. Thank you to antigone and everyone who reviews. You all tend to inspire my work.


	40. Trouser Etiquette

A/N - Just a little fun that came about because GranthamGal remarked about thinking Robert's annoyance at finding Patrick in his and Cora's bed was amusing.

* * *

><p>It had became very clear that day that Cora had an admirer. He'd had flowers brought to her that morning and she'd gone off with him for hours that afternoon and left Robert feeling very much alone all of a sudden. It was also clear that she loved the attention. For his part, Robert was left to wonder how he'd been forgotten about and abandoned so quickly. When he'd gone into Cora's bedroom - <em>his <em>and Cora's bedroom - and found the one who'd been taking up all her time and attention already there lounging happily on her - no, _their_ - bed, and in his place on that bed no less, Robert was very put out to say the least. He'd turned around and stomped into his dressing room in a rather undignified manner and waited for Cora to come in and apologize after her visitor left.

He laid on his bed waiting for what felt like ages, but she didn't come. The whole thing had actually hurt his feelings, as absurd at that was. He'd missed her terribly and the thought of being without her on Christmas was nearly unbearable. He got up and slowly opened the door to the bedroom. Cora was sitting up reading. When she noticed him in the doorway, she closed her book and laid it on her nightstand. "It's about time you come back. I was starting to worry," she said with a teasing smile.

Robert wasn't in much of a mood to be teased. "I didn't want to intrude. You two looked to be having a wonderful time together," he grumbled as he took off his dressing gown and slippers before climbing into bed.

Cora couldn't believe what she was hearing. "Robert, are you jealous?" she asked. He gave no response so she asked again, "Robert Crawley, are you honestly jealous of a three year old boy?"

"When he's had your nearly undivided attention all day, yes I do get a little jealous. I missed you today," he said as got closer to her.

"I'm astounded," she said only partially kidding. "I made sure Patrick was occupied while James and Andrea went out together for the afternoon. You make it sound as if I've pushed you away. Clearly I've done nothing of the sort." Cora said as her husband's hand gave her bottom an appreciative little pat before beginning to pull up her nightgown. "Robert, we still ought to talk," she said as he felt the silk of her nightgown slide over her hips and Robert's hand trail up her inner thigh.

"We can talk afterward." he whispered before kissing her neck. He quickly removed his pajamas and was about pull Cora's nightgown off when there was a soft knock on the door. "Cousin Cora, are you awake? I forgot my book. It's by the bed. Can I come in and get it?" Patrick called.

Robert was visibly annoyed by Patrick's sudden intrusion. He climbed off of Cora, gathered his things with a sigh, and quietly slipped into his dressing room. He left the door open a crack so he would be able to hear when Patrick left and it was alright for him to return to bed with his beautiful wife.

Cora made herself presentable and then called Patrick in. He walked over and retrieved his book before climbing onto the bed to give her a hug and a kiss good night. "Will I be able to come visit again after Christmas?" he asked. "I like you and I'm going to miss you when I go home. And Cousin Robert, too. And Carson. Not Auntie Violet though. She's scary."

Cora thought about her mother-in-law's gentleness and loving words of the night before. "I used to think she was scary, too, but now I think that deep down she might be rather sweet."

"Really deep down," he replied with an expression that made Cora laugh.

"Give her a chance," she said as he hopped off the bed after giving her one last hug for the day. "You might find that you like her, too."

"I'll try, I promise," Patrick said. "Good night, Cousin Cora, I love you."

"I love you, too," Cora replied wishing a certain other Crawley male would say that to her. Say it and mean it, ideally.

As he turned to leave, Patrick noticed something on the floor. "Does Cousin Robert tell you a bedtime story, too?" he asked.

Cora felt a blush beginning to burn her cheeks. "Um… not exactly. Whatever would make you ask a thing like that?" she said nervously.

"Because he left something in your room, too," Patrick said. He giggled as he held up the item in question. "He forgot his trousers!" Before Cora could say another word Patrick was knocking on the door that lead to Robert's dressing room.

The door opened and Robert appeared dressed in pajamas and his dressing gown. Cora noticed that the pajama bottoms did not match the shirt he was wearing, but the ones in Patrick's hand did. "Why Patrick, how may I help you this evening," he said trying to make it seem as if he hadn't been eavesdropping the whole time.

Patrick held up Robert's pajama bottoms. "Were you missing these?" he asked.

"Why yes, I was Patrick," Robert said as he took the trousers, "thank you for returning them to me."

"You're welcome,"Patrick replied. "You shouldn't leave you trousers lying around in other people's rooms, Robert," the boy scolded, "you wouldn't want to lose them. Also, Mama says it's not nice." With that, Patrick left the two alone, his childhood innocence firmly intact.

After waiting a moment to make sure the boy wouldn't come wandering back in Robert and Cora both dissolved into laughter. "I believe I've broken with proper trouser etiquette." Robert said.

"A breach, you might say?" Cora added giggling. They savored this moment of playful togetherness.

"You know everyone will have heard all about this by luncheon tomorrow," Robert said as his chuckles subsided.

"I doubt we'll ever live it down as long as your sister lives and breathes,"Cora replied as she watched her husband slip out of his dressing gown and pajamas with a hungry look..

Robert climbed into bed and lay close beside her. "We can worry about that in the morning, though," he said with a very mischievous look on his face. "Right now it's time for me to tell you a bedtime story.

"Oh really," Cora said as she felt Robert's hands beginning to wander again, "what's this story about?" she asked smiling wickedly.

"It's about a beautiful girl named Cora," Robert replied. "A very naughty, beautiful girl named Cora," he said as he rolled her onto her back.


	41. Presents

The afternoon of December twenty-forth found Downton Abbey unusually still. This was due to the family's habit of wrapping their own gifts, the unintended result was a rare bit of free time for the servants which most of them filled with their own gift wrapping and letter writing. Mrs Smythe, the housekeeper, called it the calm before the storm to the amusement of the rest of the staff. The mood was light downstairs. Edgar, His Lordships valet, even played carols on the small piano in the servants hall. Only Mr. Carson seemed unaffected by the holiday cheer. He sat in silence before slipping away from the party without a word to go for a walk and clear his head of ghosts Christmases long past when he had joined in the merriment. He pulled the watch from his pocket out of habit before grumbling and returning it to his pockets roughly. It had been broken for over a week, but he couldn't bear the thought of being without his father's watch on Christmas. It was just silly sentimentality, but he couldn't help it.

* * *

><p>Upstairs the atmosphere was bright as well. Everyone was busy wrapping up whatever treasures they had purchased for their loved ones while trying to keep it all a surprise, which was more difficult for some than others. Rosamund had barely finished putting the ribbon on the last of Marmaduke's gifts when her beloved husband crept into her bedroom and grabbed her around the waist. "Oh, Marmaduke, please! " Rosamund said teasingly as her husband kissed her neck. "I'm preparing your presents for tomorrow."<p>

"Get them off the bed," he said lustily, "I'd like to give you a present now." He pressed himself firmly against her back and one of his hands slid to her thigh.

She smiled as she ran her hand over the bulge in his trousers. "Well, aren't you sure of yourself?" She turned to face him and he unfastened her dress. It fell to the floor in a heap as she reached for his fly. "A gift you say?" Her touch worked his magic on him and he slumped into a chair with a groan.

She stood with a sly smile and went to the bed enjoying the heat of her husband's stare as she moved the gifts off the bed exaggerating her movements for his benefit. He enjoyed the show his wife was putting on prancing about in her underclothes and looked rather smug after he caught his breath. "I'm only going off of the reviews you've given me. After all, who am I, a mere banker, to argue with the opinions of a Lady?"

Rosamund turned to Marmaduke. In her hand was a long piece of wide red ribbon. "Are you going to be treating me like a Lady or have I been bad girl?" she asked coyly.

He stood and walked to her. "You'll find out soon enough," he whispered as carefully placed the ribbon across her eyes like a blindfold and tying it securely.

* * *

><p>Things were heating up in Robert's dressing room as well, but it was his temper as opposed to his passions that was causing the building tension. Robert had long ago accepted that he would never go down in history as a great thinker, but his poor gift wrapping skills always irked him and especially now when he wanted things to be perfect for his first Christmas with Cora. What would she think of him if she knew he could barely put a bit of paper around a box and tie it up with a presentable enough bow. "Ugh, it looks like a toddler did this with his feet!" Robert grumbled as he unwrapped the gift and started again. He wished he could ask for help, but he would never do such a thing. He had muddled his way through the rest of his presents and now all that remained were Cora's 'special' presents that they would open when they came up for bed due to the personal nature of their contents. He didn't need everyone knowing he'd bought her nightgowns and just the thought of James seeing Cora's lingerie and being able to imagine her wearing it or removing it was enough to make Robert's jaw tighten. He was having a hard enough time keeping James away from <em>his Cora<em> as it was.

He was shaken from this self induced anger by Patrick wandering into his room with a large box of candy in his arms. "I need some of the best, prettiest paper we have, Cousin Robert. This is for Cousin Cora," the boy announced. Robert sighed and handed the child the pieced he'd planned to use for the box he was wrapping that contain Robert's favorite, and by far the most risqué, negligee he'd had made for his wife.

The two wrapped their gifts and when they were both finished Patrick reached into his pocket and pulled out a piece of raw potato. "What on Earth is that?" Robert asked.

"Mr. Carson made me a Christmas stamp, see," Patrick said happily as he held up the potato to Robert so he could get a better look at the cluster of stars that had been carved in relief on one side of it. "All I need is a little bit of ink and then I can make Cora's gift extra fancy." Robert sighed as he stood to get the boy his ink and resigned himself to the fact that his wrapping would even be outclassed by Patrick's.

* * *

><p>Cora was sitting on her bed surrounded by perfectly wrapped presents agonizing over the last gift she had to wrap. It was a snuff box for Robert to add to his collection. It was an old Italian piece with a beautiful scene enameled on the lid - a young man on his knees professing his love to a lovely woman. She glanced at the door that led to her husband's dressing room and sighed. What she wouldn't give to have Robert profess his love. He didn't need to be on his knees. He didn't even need to 'profess' anything, actually. She didn't need a speech. She needed to feel like they really were alright, or at least that there was a 'them' at all. Sometimes she still wasn't quite sure. She stood as walked to her night table. She took a small piece of paper and wrote a note on it before she folded it up and placed it in the snuff box before she wrapped it up. It wasn't a particularly special gift - anyone could have bought him a snuff box - but she hoped he wouldn't mind and would enjoy it and the other things she'd gotten him even if she hadn't managed to come up with something heartfelt. It was hard to come up with something touching for a man who always seemed to keep his heart just out of Cora's reach.<p>

* * *

><p>Down the hall, Richard strode proudly into his wife's bedroom carrying what looked like an oversized jewelry box. It was dark blue, velvet, and had a gold latch. "It's here at last," he said beaming.<p>

"Thank goodness, I thought it would never make it on time," Violet said as she hopped out of her seat and went to her husband.

"Petrov brought it from London just a few minutes ago. He's one of Oskar's boys. He's having tea in the servants' hall as we speak. I figured it he deserved it after making this long trip on Christmas Eve. I am to show it to you for your approval before sending him on his way. If it needs any changes he's offered to work on them tonight and send it back in the morning. I've looked at at and I think it's beyond perfection, but it's your opinion that matters, Oskar made that very clear." Richard said smiling. He unfastened the latch and tilted the top of the box back.

Violet gasped. "Oh Richard, you were right, it truly is prefect. Absolutely perfect!" she said with a smile.

Richard lifted the sparkling masterpiece out of its box and gave the expert craftsmanship a quick look. "Won't it look wonderful on our Cora?" he asked.

"_Our_ Cora?" Violet asked rolling her eyes.

"Yes, my dearest one, she's not going anywhere and I know your resolve to despise that girl is weakening by the minute," Richard replied with a smile as he returned the treasure to its box. He held the bedroom door open for his wife as they both went to give Petrov their verdict on his father's handiwork. "A little bird told me you suggested she call you 'Mama', so you aren't fooling me one bit."Violet smiled up at him as they walked downstairs arm in arm.

After Violet had told the jeweler's son how delighted she was with the present, and she and Richard had managed to get such a delicate item wrapped and placed under the tree safely, they were on their way upstairs when they spotted Robert creeping stealthily downstairs with his arms full of gifts. Richard pulled his wife into a corner behind a column so they could watch and see what had their son sneaking around like a thief. No sooner had Robert gotten the presents out of his hands when Cora could be seen making her way downstairs with her gifts. They watched as Robert hid close to the tree. Cora hadn't seen him and was trying to get her boxes situated decoratively. As she stood there debating about where a specific present should go, much to Violet's horror, Robert reached out from his hiding place and cupped his wife's bottom through her skirts. He pulled his hand back as she gasped and spun around quickly. Richard placed his finger to Violet's lips to keep her from interrupting the lovers at play.

As Cora looked around nervously for whomever had touched her, Richard continued trying to still his flustered wife. "How can he do those things in the middle of the hall? In the middle of the afternoon?!" Violet hissed. She narrowed her eyes at her husband. "I'm sure he gets his exhibitionist streak from you."

"Oh," Richard whispered, "I don't recall ever lacking a willing partner in our al fresco antics. The time we all visited my aunt by the seaside when you and I were engaged and we would go off into the garden when no one was paying attention? You were pretty eager back then yourself," Richard said.

From his hiding place behind a column, Robert carefully lifted up the back of Cora's dress before he carefully reached underneath it without her knowing and a second later she jumped and cried out in surprise at whatever he'd done to her.

"Remember all the trouble that came of my eagerness," Violet said with a chill in her voice, "and that vile rumor that persists to this day." Robert had gone back to hiding but Cora was looking more diligently for the person who was groping her. It was only a matter of time before Robert got himself found.

"Violet, they're different. They've been married for months. Something like that wouldn't be met by anything but congratulations." Richard said soothingly as the two stayed in their hidden corner and waiting for a less awkward moment to go back upstairs. "It's good for them to play and flirt like this. It means they're happy with each other - maybe even in love, though I think you and I could both tell that young Cora was completely besotted from the moment she arrived. I think the only one who didn't have an inkling was Robert."

Cora was peering behind the column Robert had be hiding behind. He'd crept around the other side and was now right behind her. As she bent further forward he gave her bottom a firm smack. She yelped and jumped. He caught her in his arms and held her tightly as she spun to face him before pinning her against the stone column and capturing her lips in a passionate kiss before she could speak a word in protest. She resisted momentarily before wrapping her arms around him and pressing her body against his. Robert managed to get his hand under her skirts again and a moment later Cora moaned softly against his lips as she began to squirm.

With the young pair thoroughly distracted, Lord and Lady Grantham took the opportunity to make their way upstairs red faced and unnoticed. "I don't know how I'll be able to speak to them at dinner after what I just saw," Violet muttered. "They're absolutely incorrigible."

"I think it will be an accomplishment just looking at them without making some sort of commentary," Richard said taking his wife's hand in his. "Still, I'm sure we'll work it out together."


	42. A Very Wicked Man

To Light a Fire

Richard lay awake as the sun rose over his snow covered estate. While he hadn't grown out of waking up early on Christmas day out of excitement, this year found him awake for a more serious reason. Simply returning to Downton had not been a panacea for the rift between him and his wife. Perhaps he'd been naive, but he'd assumed that once they got out of the rumor mill that was London high society and back to the country estate they loved so much her wounds would heal quickly and they could have the happy, family centric Christmas they both enjoyed so much. Despite Violet's best efforts to hide it, he could tell that there was still something bothering her. He saw it in the way she didn't smile as brightly as usual and the tinge of sadness in her eyes when she looked into his, but it was most evident when they were alone together in their bedroom. Thankfully, they still made love, but they didn't do so as often and when they did it wasn't the same as it had been.

He turned and looked over at her curled up with her back to him asleep on the far edge of their bed. She had always been a very cuddly bedmate and he'd woken up to her clinging to him for decades. Now he might as well be sleeping in his dressing room. There was a distinct chill in the morning air and Richard watched as his wife snuggled deeper into her pillow as she slept in search of warmth. He carefully moved closer to her. Almost immediately she rolled over, wrapped her arm around him and sighed as she settled against his chest. He ran his fingers gently through her auburn hair and kissed her forehead over and over. He'd missed having her beside him so much. He held her tightly around the waist and kept kissing as her eyes fluttered open. "Oh, I'm sorry, Richard," she murmured drowsily, "I didn't mean to smother you like this." She pushed lightly against her husband's chest and seemed surprised when she realized he was holding her against him. Richard did his best not to show how much that hurt him.

"Don't be silly, my dear sweet girl," he said as he placed another kiss on Violet's forehead. "You know I adore having you in my arms. I love you, darling," he whispered in her ear. The faraway look in her eyes returned as Richard gently rubbed her back and kept desperately whispering sweet words to her. He still didn't understand what he'd done to hurt her so badly and she bit her lip to keep from crying. She refused to begin Christmas day in tears.

At the opposite end of the hall Cora woke to the taste of her husband's lips and dark chocolate. Robert stifled her gasp of surprise by deepening his kiss. He matched her movements as she rolled onto her back and he was on top of her loosening the neckline of her nightgown and pushing it off her shoulders before she was completely awake. She tried to push him back, but it was only the need for air that ended his kiss. "Merry Christmas, my angel," he said breathlessly as Cora stared up at him in bewilderment.

"What on earth has gotten into you," she asked as she watched him reach for another piece of chocolate. "Robert Crawley, you stop that!" she hissed as he slowly swept it over her collarbone leaving a trail of melted chocolate in its wake. "Robert," she gasped as he proceeded to follow that sweet candy trail with his tongue, "Robert, we can't! We have to go to church, you wicked man." Her husband continued to tug down her nightgown. "We can't miss services and… don't you dare!" Her mouth hung open in shock as she watched her husband, a terribly naughty gleam in his eye, drop a piece of chocolate into the valley between her now barely covered breasts. She lay still as the chocolate pooled on her skin trying to figure out a way to get up without making a mess as Robert quickly removed his shirt. He took her by surprise again with his deep kiss and she was starting to have trouble coming up with reasons to resist him. She settled deeper into her pillow with a sigh with her eyes still closed as their lips parted. Robert took the opportunity to enjoy the chocolate Cora had momentarily forgotten about. "Good heavens!" she cried as his lips and tongue worked their magic. He looked up at her and she gave up any remaining notions of fighting his desire and her own. She slowly pulled her nightgown down low enough to uncover her breasts. She inhaled sharply as Robert happily began to tend to them as well as Cora relaxed and let the pleasure wash over her.

As Cora's attention was focused on what Robert's lips were doing, his hand reached up between her legs and his long, skilled fingers began doing things to her that made lying there passively just about impossible. She writhed. She moaned. She sighed, whimpered, trembled, and, when her maid, Emily, walked in and interrupted the couple at play, her cry was not entirely one of shock.

"I'm sorry M'lady, err… M'lord and M'lady," the red faced maid stammered. She faced the nearest wall as the couple hastily made themselves as presentable as was possible. "I was sent up because you never rang for me and His Lordship has said that the family will be attending services in less than two hour's time. You need to be dressed and fed. I had no idea that you were… that the two of you were… I'm so sorry," she said as turned to face the young couple and slowly managed to look at them. Robert could hear Watson opening his dressing room door and, after giving his wife one last chocolate flavored kiss, he went into his dressing room to get changed for the morning church service.

The Countess of Grantham was not known for her patience, so it came as little surprise to Robert or his wife that the rest of the family had left for the church ahead of them. They weren't particularly disappointed by it either. There had been a light snowfall the night before and Robert found the prospect of a sleigh ride along with his wife far more appealing than sharing their journey with his teasing sister, his sniping aunt, or his little cousin who would no doubt have captured Cora's attention and been cradled in her arms before the house was out of sight. As they settled in for their ride, Cora noticed Robert exchanging as few words and a smile with the chauffeur, Ian, but she thought nothing of it. Robert had a good report with most of the servants. He got in the sleigh and Cora wrapped her arms around him as they began to move.

About half way to their destination, the sleigh came to an abrupt stop. Ian turned back to the couple and gave a very inconspicuous cough to coax them into breaking their kiss. Robert looked somewhat unsurprised to hear that the horse had a minor injury and that Ian would have to walk him back and return with a new one and Cora began to wonder if her husband hadn't had a hand in stranding them. "Robert Crawley, you wicked man, we'll be late for church," she said shaking her head at her grinning husband.

"You can't blame me for a twist of fate, my dear," he said as he pulled her closer, "or an act of God."

Cora was shocked. "You would reference God with your mind focused where yours is," she gasped as she felt his hand trail up her thigh and give her bottom a squeeze. "You are very bad. Very bad indeed," she said as he gently eased her down until she lay across the seat. As she realized what his intentions were, she blushed fiercely. Sometimes the more intimate experiences of married life still made her embarrassed or at least a little self conscious. "Please, Robert, not here. We can't do this here. It's so cold." Even as the words were leaving her mouth, her efforts to evade him were melting and she silently cursed the fact that she found it impossible to resist him.

His words were her final undoing. "I'll protect you. I'll keep you warm. I promise."

"A half an hour late!" Violet hissed at her son as he and Cora joined them in the pew. She had no idea what could've made them so late and, from the glowing blush streaking Cora's cheeks, she figured that was for the best.


End file.
